SINGAPORE, Feb 14 — Singapore will establish the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) on April 1, a significant step in the country’s efforts to strengthen its capabilities in infectious disease management and public health preparedness.
The Health Ministry (MOH) said in a statement yesterday that the new statutory board under the ministry will consolidate public health functions related to the detection, prevention, and control of infectious diseases.
These functions were previously distributed across the MOH headquarters, the Health Promotion Board, and the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).
CDA will focus on five key areas, including preventing the spread of disease through public education, vaccination policies, and infection prevention and control measures.
It will also lead and coordinate public health preparedness efforts, working with various stakeholders to build sectoral readiness against infectious disease crises, and safeguard national interests such as vaccine and therapeutic development and access.
"The formation of CDA will allow the government to quickly respond to disease outbreaks as one concerted public health effort, and play a pivotal role in safeguarding Singapore from infectious disease threats,” MOH said.
NCID executive director Prof Vernon Lee will be appointed as CDA chief executive officer effective April 1. He will relinquish his role at NCID on the same day.
Lee has made significant contributions to Singapore's public health and global health initiatives, including being involved in the response to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003, the 2009 influenza pandemic, the Zika outbreak in 2016, and more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. — Bernama
