SingHealth Receives International Awards for Healthy Ageing and Population Health Initiatives

• In recognition of its contributions to healthy ageing, SingHealth has been conferred the His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Prize for the Promotion of Healthy Ageing by the World Health Organization.
• This reflects SingHealth’s growing international standing in population health. In March 2026, SingHealth was also awarded the Best Cross-Organisation Collaboration Award at the International Forum on Quality & Safety in Healthcare for its work in transforming community-based care in Singapore.

Singapore, 22 May 2026 – The World Health Organization (WHO) has conferred SingHealth the His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Prize for the Promotion of Healthy Ageing, an international accolade established by the State of Kuwait Health Promotion Foundation. This award honours outstanding contributions to research, health promotion, policy and programmes on healthy ageing, and was presented to SingHealth at the WHO Assembly on 20 May 2026 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Helping Seniors Age Well with Dignity and Independence

The award recognises SingHealth's integrated person-centred approach to addressing the needs of an ageing population across key areas such as health, urban planning and social wellness. By focusing on helping seniors to live healthier and more engaged lives as longevity increases, SingHealth translates evidence into scalable, personalised and holistic care models that are embedded within the community. The goal is to enable them to age safely, independently and with dignity at home. As the Regional Health Manager of eastern Singapore, SingHealth also plays a key leadership role in convening community partners, government agencies and social service agencies to synergise their strengths, ensuring care initiatives are integrated and accessible.

Transforming Eastern Singapore into an Age-Friendly Hub

A key initiative in promoting healthy ageing is Healthier EAST@SG, a multi-agency network led by SingHealth for eastern Singapore. In September 2025, the Healthier EAST@SG initiative was inducted into the WHO Global Network for Age-friendly Cities and Communities (GNAFCC), placing eastern Singapore at the forefront of a global healthy ageing movement alongside 1,700 cities worldwide. Through its leadership of Healthier EAST@SG, SingHealth is transforming the eastern region of Singapore into an inclusive and age-friendly community.

Professor Lee Chien Earn, Deputy Group CEO (Regional Health System), SingHealth, said, "Healthy ageing is not merely about adding years to life, but about enabling seniors to live those years fully and well. Our efforts focus on giving seniors the chance to enjoy their silver years in the comfort of their homes and communities through holistic community-based care initiatives while strengthening preventive care through screening and empowering them with resources to take charge of their health. We are honoured to be conferred the His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Prize for the Promotion of Healthy Ageing by WHO. This affirms the good work done in collaboration with our community partners in striving towards a shared vision of helping our seniors to continue to thrive as they age healthily with dignity and purpose. We are excited to continue innovating and implementing holistic initiatives to help not just our current seniors age well but enable healthy longevity for our residents across their life-course in their respective communities.”

Growing Recognition on the Global Stage

This latest achievement reflects SingHealth’s growing international standing in population health. In March 2026, SingHealth was awarded the Best Cross-Organisation Collaboration Award at the International Forum on Quality & Safety in Healthcare in Oslo, Norway, for its transformative work in community-based care in Singapore.

The award recognises SingHealth's commitment to form cross-sectoral partnerships and build scalable, future-ready models of community care that are holistic and accessible. From the Neighbours for Active Living programme which was launched in 2013 by Changi General Hospital (CGH) and South East Community Development Council (CDC) to ensure that patients with complex health and social care needs receive continued care in the community after their discharge from hospital, to the formation of integrated multidisciplinary Healthier Singapore (HSG) teams, comprising primary care providers, community nurses and Wellbeing Coordinators (WBCs), these care teams address the rising complexity of health conditions faced by the community. They deliver personalised care, tailored to the needs of individuals, across more than 30 defined communities of care to bring about significant preventive health improvements within the community.

Driving Population Health Efforts in the Heartlands

As part of efforts to scale up population health initiatives in the heartlands, the SingHealth Community Forum was held today at Heartbeat@Bedok. This annual event enables SingHealth and its community partners in the health and social service sectors to deepen partnerships. This year, a key highlight of these collaborations was a showcase on harnessing technology to co-create innovative solutions that promote and amplify integrated care for Singapore’s ageing population.

Clinical Associate Professor How Choon How, Director, East, SingHealth Office of Regional Health and Chairman, Division of Continuity Care, CGH, who is the adviser to this year’s Forum, said, “We are very heartened to collaborate with community partners who share our passion and commitment to keep Singaporeans healthy and well within their communities. The annual SingHealth Community Forum has been instrumental in strengthening and deepening our collaborations, forging new partnerships and synergising our collective strengths to sharpen our delivery of community-based care and expand its accessibility. By sharing best practices, the Forum also serves as a catalyst for innovation, enabling us to harness technology and leverage evidence-based strategies to create holistic care solutions that support our seniors in living and ageing well in the community.”