SINGAPORE: A new initiative was launched this week that stands to benefit both Singapore and the Philippines in terms of healthcare.
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, who was in Manila earlier this week for a World Health Organization Regional Committee Meeting, was also present for the signing of an Implementation Memorandum between Singapore’s Ministry of Health and the Philippines’ Department of Migrant Workers.
He explained that it was for an initiative giving experienced Filipino nurses working in Singapore’s public healthcare system to have the opportunity for scholarships to be trained as nurse educators.
After finishing the programme, the trained nurses will return to the Philippines to educate the next generation of nurses, he added.
“Singapore and the Philippines share a longstanding friendship, with strong ties in healthcare. By investing in people and sharing knowledge and expertise, we can strengthen the healthcare systems in both countries,” said Mr Ong.
There are thousands of Filipino nurses working in Singapore, where around one-third of the nursing workforce is made up of foreign nationals. According to data from 2019, the largest number of foreign nurses is from the Philippines.
In total, there are around 200,000 overseas Filipino workers in Singapore. According to the Philippines Department of Migrant Workers, there were 37,026 recorded deployments of Filipino workers in nursing-related professions to Singapore from January 2023 to June 2026, composed of 4,500 new hires and 32,526 rehires.
Mr Ong noted that this week’s signing builds on a 2024 earlier agreement on the recruitment of healthcare workers.
On August 15, 2024, he and the Philippines’ Secretary for Migrant Workers Hans Leo Cacdac first signed an MOU that signalled that both countries desired to have a formal mechanism to govern and regulate the deployment of Filipino healthcare workers to Singapore and support them for their eventual return to their home country.
The signing was witnessed by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who acknowledged the valuable contributions of health workers from the Philippines in Singapore, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. /TISG