Bird Flu

16 Jan 2006

Question No:  302  

Question

Name of the Person: Dr Lily Neo, MP for Jalan Besar

To ask the Minister for Health whether Singapore will (i) join the United Nations, United States of America and World Bank in the surveillance and early detection of bird flu to prevent a possible human flu pandemic; and (ii) offer to be the regional centre for the various agencies to be based here, in view of our strategic location in Southeast Asia and proximity to countries affected by bird flu.

Reply

Reply From MOH

First, we need to persuade countries to reform their farming practices and raise the hygiene standard of their wet markets. Calls for reform are now increasingly being heard at international forums like the WHO (World Health Organisation) and APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation). We have been adding our voices to such calls. 

Second, countries must enhance their surveillance and early detection systems, for both bird flu and human flu. This requires strong international collaboration so that essential information can be shared in a timely manner. Some countries will require assistance in expertise and extra resources. 

Our resources are limited but where we can make a meaningful contribution to global public health, we will. We do this at several levels. 

Bilaterally, we have been working with our neighbours, to share expertise and experience. For example, we have a collaborative project with Indonesia. This was discussed by and agreed to between PM Lee and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last year. We are providing Indonesia with training, laboratory testing support, equipment and medical supplies to help them build capacity to deal with this common challenge. 

At the multilateral level, we work through the WHO and the OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health) to promote early detection and greater transparency. 

Third, when an outbreak of human flu pandemic occurs anywhere in the world, we need rapid response to investigate the outbreak and to isolate it if possible. This requires prompt and effective intervention. That is why Singapore decided to join the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN). GOARN was set up in 2000 to pool together the technical resources of member partners to respond to outbreaks. It provides another useful platform for international collaboration. Last month, we hosted the GOARN Steering Committee Meeting in Singapore, and had a good meeting. 

Apart from these activities, a recent initiative is worth highlighting. At the APEC Summit in South Korea, PM Lee, President Yudhoyono and President Bush decided to start a pilot project in Indonesia on the control of bird flu. This is still at the planning stage but the objective is to see how we can execute, within a defined area in Indonesia, all the measures recommended by the expert agencies such as the WHO and the OIE. The project can then be a model of preventive and control strategies, which can be extended to the rest of Indonesia. The experience should be of value to other countries. We are involving other countries and other partners such as the World Bank, the WHO and the OIE to contribute resources and expertise. 

As pointed out by Dr Lily Neo, our location in Southeast Asia in proximity to many bird flu-infected countries makes us a natural partner in such regional collaborative activities. We certainly welcome international organizations to base themselves in Singapore where it is beneficial for them to do so. 

One example is the Regional Emerging Diseases Intervention (REDI) Centre at Biopolis. This was jointly established by Singapore and the US, to serve as a regional node for research and co-ordinating efforts to deal with emerging transnational diseases. In the area of bird flu, the REDI Centre has been tasked by APEC to draw up a list of resources and experts that could be called upon to respond to an emergency outbreak situation. It will also play a role in the Indonesian pilot project that I mentioned earlier.