Singapore to host the 7th World One Health Congress

USA - English

• USA - English

Leading global scientists and policymakers will exchange learnings to promote multi-sectoral collaboration to address complex global health challenges

SINGAPORE, Oct. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The 7th World One Health Congress (WOHC), the world's premier event to advance the One Health agenda, will take place in Singapore at the iconic Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands, from 7 to 11 November 2022. Mdm Halimah Yacob, President of the Republic of Singapore, will grace the event's Opening Ceremony on 7 November as its Guest-of-Honour and deliver the Opening Address.

The global One Health movement aims to improve health and well-being by preventing and mitigating crises that originate from the animal-human-environment interface. This year's Congress, hosted by Singapore's SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute (SDGHI) under the auspices of the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre, is themed 'Integrating Science, Policy and Clinical Practice: A One Health Imperative Post-COVID-19', and will promote multi-sectoral efforts and collaborations that advance a 'whole of society' approach and perspective to health hazards and the management of risks. Temasek Foundation is the Pinnacle Sponsor of the Congress. 

The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and the Director-General of the World Organisation for Animal Health, Dr Monique Eloit, will deliver opening remarks on the first day. More than 120 speakers from organisations around the world, such as the World Bank, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will come together to share their knowledge and experiences across five distinct scientific tracks, spanning themes from One Health Science to Pandemic Preparedness and Health Systems Resilience.

The Congress will feature a hybrid experience of in-person and virtual sessions with renowned keynote speakers, plenary lectures by experts, scientific sessions with abstract presentations and panel discussions on urgent and emerging topics. Leading scientists and policymakers will be joined by representatives from academic institutions, civil society, national governments, the private sector and multilateral organisations from around the world to integrate insights from diverse disciplines, including epidemiology and disease surveillance, animal production and trade, food safety, animal science, human health, environmental science/ecology and global health security.

The biennial congress is taking place at a pertinent moment for the world. "As the world emerges from COVID-19, it is vital for scientific communities, policymakers and clinical professionals to build our collective resilience against future global health challenges," said Associate Professor Tan Hiang Khoon, Co-Chairman of the WOHC 2022 Steering Committee and Director of SDGHI. "The 7^th World One Health Congress will host important conversations and promote integrated regional and global efforts that are essential to prevent, predict, prepare and respond to crises and safeguard our planet's healthy and sustainable future. The SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute is pleased to represent Singapore in organising this Congress, and play a part in advancing global efforts to improve health outcomes and achieve health equity for all."

"The crux of the One Health paradigm is about recognising our global interconnectivity across not just the human experience, but animal and environmental determinants as well. This has never been more apparent than throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, during which we have seen first-hand just how much advancing health equity relies on our collective understanding and response to global health threats," said Professor Wang Linfa, Co-Chairman of the WOHC 2022 Steering Committee and Professor at Duke-NUS Medical School. "This Congress is a well-timed testament to that and provides a platform to help move the needle in fostering broad collaboration and impact to advance One Health."

Running in parallel to the main WOHC 2022, the Temasek Foundation Pinnacle Series is a three-day programme that focuses on the readiness to combat public health threats in Asia, particularly in Southeast Asia.

This targeted programme provides a platform for strategic discussions and opportunities for close networking among invited policy makers, healthcare leaders and scientists in the region involved in different disciplines, including zoonotic diseases, bio-surveillance studies and antimicrobial resistance, to enhance the preparedness and response to emerging global health threats.

"Asia urgently needs to build capabilities to be ready to respond to any outbreaks that can potentially pose a major threat to the lives and livelihoods of its populations," said Mr Lim Hock Chuan, Head, Programmes, Temasek Foundation. "One of the most critical lessons learnt from the pandemic is that we must collaborate and share knowledge to tackle the most pressing healthcare challenges. We hope that the Temasek Foundation Pinnacle Series provides healthcare leaders an opportunity to continue this spirit of learning and exchange to better prepare the region for future pandemics."

The WOHC is open for registration for both in-person and virtual attendance here. For more information on WOHC 2022 and its speakers, go to www.worldonehealthcongress.org or follow the congress on Twitter and Facebook. 

– END –

About SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre

The SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre (AMC) draws on the collective strengths of SingHealth and Duke-NUS Medical School to provide our patients and community with the best outcomes and experience.

By leveraging the synergies in clinical care, research and education created through our Academic Clinical Programmes, Disease Centres and Joint Institutes, the SingHealth Duke-NUS AMC fosters the exchange of scientific knowledge and clinical perspectives to accelerate innovation and new discoveries, advance the practice of medicine as well as nurture the next generation of healthcare professionals.

SingHealth delivers comprehensive, multi-disciplinary and integrated care across a network of acute hospitals, national specialty centres, polyclinics and community hospitals. Offering over 40 clinical specialties, SingHealth is Singapore's largest public healthcare cluster.

Duke-NUS, Singapore's flagship graduate-entry medical school, nurtures 'Clinician Plus' graduates to become leaders in the global healthcare and biomedical ecosystem, while scientists from its five Signature Research Programmes and 10 Centres transform medicine and improve lives in Asia and beyond.

For more information, please visit:

www.singhealthdukenus.com.sg 
www.singhealth.com.sg
www.duke-nus.edu.sg

About SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute

The SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute (SDGHI) aims to advance health and well-being in Asia and beyond. Working in collaboration with partners, the Institute seeks to strengthen health systems, improve health outcomes and increase health security.  Launched in 2018, SDGHI harnesses the capacity of SingHealth, the largest group of health care institutions in Singapore, and the Duke-NUS Medical School, to advance interdisciplinary global health research and capacity development across the region.

About Temasek Foundation

Temasek Foundation supports programmes that uplift lives and communities in Singapore and beyond. We aim to strengthen social resilience, foster international exchange and enhance regional capabilities, advance science and protect the planet for a sustainable world. Temasek Foundation's programmes, made possible through philanthropic endowments gifted by Temasek, strive towards achieving positive outcomes for individuals and communities now, and for generations to come. For more information, visit www.temasekfoundation.org.sg.

ANNEX 1

7^th World One Health Congress Scientific Tracks

Track 1 – One Health Science will review the latest basic science and epidemiology of health and disease at the human-animal-environment interface, drawing attention to the science-policy interconnection and social context to One Health.

Track 2 – Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) will provide updates on the trends and drivers of AMR, as well as documentation of existing and future mitigation efforts to address this critical issue at the interface between humans, animals and the environment.

Track 3 – Policy, Environment and Biosecurity will bring together scientists and policymakers to discuss transdisciplinary cross-border efforts to operationalise One Health and an agenda for enhanced bio-security in a post-COVID-19 world.

Track 4 – Pandemic Preparedness and Health Systems Resilience will focus on the impact of vaccines and one health surveillance on pandemic preparedness and public health security.

Track 5 – Impact on and Innovations in Clinical Practice track will bring together clinicians and veterinarians for the first time to examine the interdependence of animal and human health, exploring the need for a One Health approach to innovation in clinical practice and healthcare technology implementation.

ANNEX 2

Temasek Foundation Pinnacle Series Sessions

Track 1 – One Health Science

• How can Asia Learn from Africa's Experience of Constructing & Successfully Running a Regional Pathogen Genomic Initiative
• Genomic Sequencing for Public Health Surveillance
• Emerging Lessons from the Africa Pathogen Genomics Initiative 3 Years On
• Findings from a Landscape Assessment of the Current Status and Bottlenecks in Genomic Surveillance in Asia
• Country Priorities for Genomic Surveillance in Asia

Track 2 – Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR): Infectious Diseases Threats in Southeast Asia

• From Zoonosis to AMR

Track 3 – Policy, Environment and Biosecurity: Scientific Evidence for Pandemic Communications

• Scientific Evidence for Pandemic Communications
• The Important Role of Media in Managing a Pandemic or Outbreak
• How Did Governments Manage Scientific Communication During the Pandemic?
• How Can We Leverage Technology and Social Listening to Improve Scientific Communications and Manage Public Health?

Track 4 – Pandemic Preparedness and Health Systems Resilience

• Transformational Innovation for Preparedness and Resilience

Track 5 – Impact on and Innovations in Clinical Practice

• How Can Health Systems in Low and Middle-Income Countries Leverage on Innovations to Tackle the Growth in Depth and Breadth of Their Disease Burden While Addressing the Concerns of Environmental Sustainability?

SOURCE SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute