Speaking at the Singapore Red Cross’ 7th Humanitarian Conference on Saturday at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Center, Singapore Democratic Party’s chairman Dr Paul Tambyah shared how Singapore can best approach the situation should there be another flu pandemic in the future.
“We need to examine our practices and ensure that they are based on the best scientific evidence. We can look for trends. We can investigate each case to see if there was some contamination problem.” said Dr Tambyah.
“Singapore is one of the world’s most globally connected cities. Singapore experienced every pandemic in 1918, 1957, 1968, 2009, and 2019.”
Dr Tambyah believes that if there is another similar outbreak in the coming years, the authorities should have their eyes and ears close to the ground to zoom in on the issue and solve it.
“In the next two to three years, we will get another flu pandemic. It’s going to happen and we are going to pick it up, identify it and adapt to change. There is no substitute for being on the ground, listening to people and just doing the right thing,” added the President-elect of the International Society for Infectious Diseases.
This year’s conference theme is ‘Humanitarian Responses to COVID-19: Anxiety & Hope’, with a focus on the immediate consequences and long-term implications of the humanitarian actors’ response towards COVID-19.
Sharing his thoughts on international anti-pandemic cooperation, Omar Odeh, Head of Regional Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Kuala Lumpur said, “If you promote well-being, you’ll need wisdom and insight into the individual’s needs. Disease, symptoms and the promotion of well-being are key.”
“These are important areas or priority areas you want to put your energies into. We live in a time of overwhelming humanitarian needs where there are multiple crises happening simultaneously and it can be very difficult to keep track of sometimes,” added Omar. /TISG