Speech by Mr Masagos Zulkifli BMM, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Education, at the Educating for Health Conference on Monday, 12 November 2007, 0900 hours at Orchid Country Club

SPEECH BY MR MASAGOS ZULKIFLI BMM, SENIOR PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, AT THE EDUCATING FOR HEALTH CONFERENCE ON MONDAY, 12 NOVEMBER 2007, 0900 HOURS AT ORCHID COUNTRY CLUB

1. It is my pleasure to be here at the Educating for Health Conference 2007. I wish to commend all our partners and friends of the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Community, Youth & Sports, Singapore and the countries in the Asia-Pacific region for your interest and commitment in supporting schools to develop the health of their students.

2. At the 2007 International Conference on Health for Development, Dr Margaret Chan, Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), spoke of the challenges for the upkeep and maintenance of health that have become more complex due to the emergence of new diseases. It was reported that on the average, there is one new disease per year. WHO also asserted that emerging infectious diseases such as SARS represent a global threat that will require a coordinated and global response. An understanding of the current global health outlook emphasizes the importance of managing other types of diseases; diseases that are linked to our lifestyles. ‘Lifestyle diseases’ are those diseases that are linked to changing lifestyles culminating from changing pace of life with globalisation, advancement in technology and affluence in society. These include chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes. The channelling of resources would be thinned if we have to handle ‘lifestyle diseases’ on top of the emergence of new diseases and the transmission of infectious diseases.

Changing Lifestyles and the Environment
3. Globalisation and advancement in technology have sped up progress in the world but they have also created a fast-paced and stressful environment. In Thomas Friedman’s terms, the world has become flat through globalisation and technology. This new flat world connects people closer together and at a much faster pace. The quick and easy access to both people and information also leads to higher expectations in the quality and delivery of work; efficiency becomes a given, resulting in less tolerant attitudes toward anything below the expected. There is also a need for greater appreciation and fuller understanding of differences in the socio-economic, political and cultural background as different groups interact with each other. The demands in this new flat world that we inhibit in today have an impact on the mental and social health of people, which indirectly or directly contribute to the state of physical health of our people.

4. The rising affluence in developed and developing countries has again significantly shaped lifestyles where consumerism is fuelled; leading to over-indulgence and over-consumption of commodities. Food is an example of a commodity that consumers over-indulge, over-consume and waste. The Herald carried a report by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) recently that food wastage due to buying more food than is required has enormous environmental costs. According to WRAP, the equivalent of at least 15 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, each year could have been prevented if food was not wasted.

5. Affluence has also paved the way for many to afford convenient transportation modes – cars. Although cars have their legitimate function, they do add to the pollution problem and do not provide sufficient incentive for their owners to want to be engaged in physical activity such as walking. The convenient and comfortable way has become a hallmark in our affluent world but it also creates lifestyles that are sedentary – a hotbed for ‘lifestyle diseases’.

6. The chances for contracting ‘lifestyle diseases’ could be reduced by being physically active and consuming a balanced diet. According to the World Health Report in 2002, low intake of fruit and vegetables is estimated to cause about 31% of ischaemic heart disease, 11% of stroke worldwide and 19% of gastrointestinal cancer. While physical inactivity is estimated to cause, globally, about 10-16% of cases each of breast, colon and rectal cancers as well as diabetes mellitus and about 22% of ischaemic heart disease. Overall, a total of 4.6 million deaths are attributable to physical inactivity and low fruit and vegetable intake.

7. The problem could worsen if we do not continue to focus our attention on decreasing the risk factors for chronic diseases like obesity. In the October showing of Foresight Programme, BBC reported that a dramatic and comprehensive action was required in order to curb the obesity problem by 2050. It was further predicted that if current health trends persist, in that year, 60% of British men and half of British women will be obese and cases of type 2 diabetes will rise by 70%. The report also suggested that cases of stroke will rise by 30% by the middle of the century and cases of coronary heart disease will rise by 20%.

8. The data is alarming. Although Singapore has not reached the same health status as the United Kingdom, our local statistics indicate that the number of deaths due to cancer, ischaemic heart disease and diabetes mellitus was at its highest in 2006 in comparison to 2004. These statistics have not taken into account the mental health conditions such as depression that may have resulted from our changing lifestyles. We need to be committed to help our citizens develop healthy habits as this has direct impact on their total well-being.

9. Our changing lifestyles have affected our attitudes towards basic nutrition, physical activity, self management and social responsibility. The time has arrived to raise greater awareness of the socio-economic and ecological consequences of our actions. Inculcating in our young healthy and responsible habits that they will carry along with them into adulthood can moderate these undesirable consequences in the environment.

Collaborations in Health
10. To build and sustain the total health and well-being of our community, it calls for collaborations from all quarters. In Singapore we are very fortunate to have our government ministries, community partners and schools to work closely to promote the health of our students. In this close collaboration, an Inter-Agency Committee for Healthy and Active Children (CHAC) was formed to align the health promoting efforts of ministries and agencies which have a stake in the health of our students; our conference today is an important outcome of the collaborative efforts of this inter-agency group.

11. The Educating for Health conference provides the platform for all to share on how we can further garner our health promotion efforts, expertise and resources to educate our future generations towards better health management. Schools can also network with other schools and members of CHAC to support their journey to implement the Holistic Health Framework or HHF. The move towards a broadened approach towards health promotion aims to make our students physically active, mentally resilient and socially bonded. This will help us address the bigger issues related to health which I mentioned earlier.

Health, Parents and the Community
12. Our schools share many happy stories of how their parents and the community support them to inculcate in their youths’ healthy habits that stay with them beyond school to adulthood. Many schools have involved their Parents Support Group (PSG) to take part in health-related events such as Games Carnival and Health Fairs. It is through involvement in these events that parents gain better understanding of the health promotion approaches that schools take and able to work hand in hand with schools for more synergistic health outcomes for their children.

13. Our community also plays a big role in assisting schools to promote a healthy lifestyle for our students and their family members. At Tampines West Constituency, for instance, a Games Involving Fitness and Teamwork or GIFT Carnival was held on the 19 May 2007 which brought together over 2000 students, teachers, parents and residents for a morning filled with sports, games and activities. More than 700 students participated in the event. In late May, Tampines West Community Club organised a school holiday programme on Archery for six schools. A total of 300 students participated in the Archery course.

14. Schools can look forward to more support from partners like Health Promotion Board (HPB), Singapore Sports Council (SSC) and Peoples Association (PA). For example, PA is working with 11 schools in organising joint projects that engage both children and parents in healthy lifestyle activities outside of school. These projects range from organising games and family bonding activities in Tampines and Anchorvale constituencies to allow schools to use Community Club facilities at Thomson constituency.

Conclusion
15. In conclusion, I strongly encourage all schools to increase efforts in health promotion and collaborate synergistically with the various agencies, ministries, parent groups and the community. We have been successful in our health promotion efforts because we have been working together. Let us continue to pitch in our effort to educate our youths to develop their health for life as a longer term outcome. To do that, we would need to keep within focus the inculcation of values for healthy living in our youths while we manage our short term processes and goals. A healthy student who carries on living healthily into adulthood will definitely be able to contribute more as a citizen. Together, we can help our children develop healthy habits for total well-being for life. I wish you an inspiring and enriching conference ahead.