Speech by Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Communications and Information, at the Academy of Chinese Medicine, Singapore's Fundraising Dinner, 2 April 2023, 7.00pm at the Fullerton Hotel

Mr Sng Kia Heok, President, Academy of Chinese Medicine Singapore (ACMS)

Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, Former Chairperson, Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners Board

Mr Richard Eu, Chairperson, ACMS Fundraising Dinner Organising Committee

Prof Kenneth Mak, Director of Medical Services, Ministry of Health

Chairpersons of Traditional Chinese Medicine organisations under the Singapore TCM Organisations Coordinating Committee

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

     Good evening. It is my pleasure to join you today for the Academy of Chinese Medicine, Singapore’s (ACMS) fundraising dinner, and to witness the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Ministry of Health (MOH), ACMS, and Singapore Traditional Chinese Medicine Organisations Coordinating Committee (STCMOCC)¹.

2.   ACMS was set up in 2015 with a mission to promote professional development and strengthen the capability of our local Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners. The academy has organised more than 100 sessions of Continuing Professional Education programmes, with a focus on facilitating TCM and Western medicine academic exchanges.

3.   To promote professional development of TCM practitioners, ACMS has awarded several postgraduate scholarships to outstanding TCM practitioners who wish to embark on further training in areas related to TCM and research. Over the years, ACMS has also established several collaborations with various organisations, including public healthcare institutions such as Singapore General Hospital and Changi General Hospital, as well as TCM charity clinics, such as Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital and Singapore Thong Chai Medical Institution.

4.   As Singapore faces challenges of an ageing population with lowering birth rates and a rise in chronic disease, TCM has been, and will continue to be, a reliable complementary medicine supporting our mainstream healthcare.

5.   TCM emphasises a holistic approach to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and diet. We look forward to the TCM community working together towards building strong evidence-based therapy so that more TCM treatments and practices can be integrated into wider care for the public. With ACMS’ support, we hope to encourage and strengthen the TCM community led research in this area.

6.   Today’s MOU signing also marks another milestone for Singapore’s TCM sector. The MOU formalises the arrangements for MOH to seek TCM-related professional advice from the Academy and STCMOCC. It also paves the way for further collaboration between MOH and the TCM community in areas such as setting clinical practice guidelines and training curriculum. Overall, the signing of the MOU today symbolises the strengthening of the existing partnership between MOH and the TCM sector and our commitment to work in partnership to improve TCM in Singapore.

7.   I would like to thank everyone for your generosity and for joining us at tonight’s fundraising dinner. We look forward to many more significant developments in the TCM sector.

¹ STCMOCC comprises eight major Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) organisations in Singapore, and was set up in the late 1990s to facilitate dialogue with MOH for the statutory registration of TCM practitioners. The eight major TCM organisations are the Singapore Chinese Physicians’ Association, the Association for Promoting Chinese Medicine, the Singapore Chinese Medical Union, Singapore Thong Chai Medical Institution, Singapore Acupuncture Association, Singapore Chinese Physicians’ Training College Alumnus Association, Society of Chinese Medical Research and the Society of Traditional Chinese Medicine.