SingHealth Duke-NUS Launches Two New Global Health Centres to Advance Allied Health and Pharmacy Practices in Asia

The SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre announced today the launch of two new centres under the auspices of the SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute, namely the Centre for Global Allied Health and the Centre for Global Pharmacy. These enabling platforms further global health collaboration and capacity building, with a focus on regional allied health and pharmacy practices in Asia. The announcement was made at the Singapore Allied Health Conference 2025 held at Fairmont Singapore, with distinguished speakers from local and overseas institutions to ignite learning and knowledge exchange for the allied health practitioner community.

Building on the collective strengths of SingHealth, Singapore's largest public health cluster, and the country's premier graduate-entry medical school, Duke-NUS Medical School, SDGHI was established in 2018 to coordinate and scale global health efforts. These new centers will see SingHealth and Duke-NUS reaffirm their commitment to furthering the cause of cross-border health equity. This will serve immediate needs in the changing health environment.

These two new centres come at a most opportune time when demands for specialist allied health and pharmacy expertise are growing across Asia because of rapid technological advances, ageing populations, and the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases. WHO estimates an 11 million health worker shortage by 2030, with most of them in low and lower middle-income countries. As per the World Health Organization Health Workforce Overview, this projects a shortage of over 190,000 globally for pharmacists only in 2030. 

A younger workforce in health is showing equal interest in the opportunities for international collaboration and leadership development as those for global health - another indicator of how timely the new centres are in their development. Shaping a Healthier Tomorrow, Together Global health is more than the treatment of individuals for diseases; global health is about the realisation of better health for all people by addressing the common and significant social, economic, and environmental determinants of wellbeing. Because for over 20 years, SingHealth has been collaborating on various health programmes with organisations from around the world. Many of these gained momentum with the establishment of the SDGHI in 2018-including in nursing, which, with the launch of the Centre for Global Nursing in July 2024 is going from strength to strength-and now it is in the allied health and pharmacy domains as well. Both centres tap into a legacy of over 120 global health projects involving partners from SingHealth and Duke-NUS. These include, in the allied health and pharmacy areas, the ongoing Antimicrobial Stewardship Programme in Cambodia since 2017-led with Singapore General Hospital and the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health-to promote appropriate use of antibiotics and combat resistance; several collaborative initiatives with the Singapore International Foundation including the Physiotherapy Bachelor's Programme Upgrade in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from 2012 to 2019; the Physiotherapy Education Upgrade Programme in Vientiane, Laos from 2016 to 2019, and the Occupational Therapy for Children with Special Needs in Jakarta, Indonesia from 2019 to 2025; these have collectively trained hundreds of health practitioners and educators throughout Southeast Asia to build up the education and practice of allied health in the region. These centres will be a launch pad towards advancing the cause of allied health and pharmacy in the region through leadership, training and mentorship. They will enhance inter-professional collaboration practices that enable a team of healthcare workers to work together and use resources more productively than individuals working in isolated professions. They will inspire these professionals to contribute more towards global health by underlining their critical contribution to advancing health equity. 

"Many of the challenges facing healthcare - such as an ageing population and rising costs - are common around the world; therefore, there is much opportunity for us to collaborate on developing timely and impactful global health solutions." said Professor Ng Wai Hoe, Group Chief Executive Officer, SingHealth. "The healthcare landscape is constantly evolving and we want to be at the forefront of allied health and pharmacy expertise in Singapore and beyond. The launch of the Centre for Global Allied Health and Centre for Global Pharmacy serves as a springboard for greater collaboration with our global health partners, enabling us to share and exchange expert know-how as we co-create solutions that strengthen the health and wellbeing of societies and their peoples." 

"Healthcare challenges today are increasingly complex and interconnected, requiring solutions that are both multidisciplinary and global," said Professor London Lucien Ooi, Director, SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute Through the Centre for Global Allied Health, led by Jeyamany Ruth Jacob, and the Centre for Global Pharmacy under Vivianne Shih, we will strengthen the networks across borders to share knowledge, build capacity, and improve health systems. These exchanges not only advance health equity worldwide but bring valuable insights back into Singapore, ultimately improving the care of all. Creating Near-term Impact The two new centers are likely to make an immediate impact with a series of initiatives coming on stream within the next few months. The rollout will begin with comprehensive global allied health and global pharmacy databases as key resources in connecting funders, host countries, and projects. These will be complemented by dedicated capacity-building programs that will train and mentor the next cadre of allied health and pharmacy leaders. Creating a strong community of support, the centers will also be hosting webinars and briefings to engage stakeholders and empower advocates for this critical work.