Singapore to invest $574.73m in fight against COVID-19

A bulk of this allocation will go to the country’s health ministry.

Singapore has set aside an $574.72m (S$800m) budget to fight the impact of COVID-19 on the country. In his Budget 2020 speech, Singapore’s finance minister Heng Swee Keat said in his budget speech that a bulk of this will be allotted to the Ministry of Health. 

This investment into healthcare follows the country’s prioritisation of healthcare. In 2019, the government set aside $6.1b for the Merdeka Generation Fund, which aimed to provide assistance for covering future long-term healthcare costs. The subsidies for the 2012-launched Community Health Assistance Scheme (CHAS) have also been extended to cover Singaporeans’ chronic conditions regardless of income.

Other budget measures
Singapore’s healthcare spend has tripled over the last decade, from $4b to $12b. PwC’s leader of health industries Dr. Zubin Daruwalla noted that it is vital for all stakeholders across the health industries to work towards lowering the rising costs of healthcare via solutions such as intelligent automation and data monetisation.

Daruwalla also noted that the $300m allotment of the budget for deep tech startups will rain over med tech startups. “Success in such startups will require not only committed investment but also an integrated ecosystem that allows startups to navigate in a timely and efficient manner,” said Daruwalla.