Strides with pathogen genomics, other partners, spur philanthropic foundation to do more in S’pore
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Participants studied how to track viral respiratory diseases such as influenza spread, as well as ways to detect and predict new pathogens.
PHOTO: DUKE-NUS MEDICAL SCHOOL
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SINGAPORE – In late September, 21 laboratory and bioinformatics professionals from Asia spent a week in Singapore learning how to conduct genomic analysis in the community, taking their skills beyond the confines of the clinical laboratory.
Through their training at the recently established Asia Pathogen Genomics Initiative (Asia PGI) Academy, the participants studied how to track viral respiratory diseases such as influenza spread, as well as ways to detect and predict new pathogens.
They learnt how to use handheld genomic devices, which can be deployed in field settings with limited laboratory support. Just by plugging the device into a laptop, genetic information from samples that were collected can be generated in just a few hours.
Professor Paul Pronyk, an infectious disease physician and global health specialist, said this revolutionises the ability to detect diseases early, even in remote settings where the risk of outbreaks is often highest.
The training under the new academy is an extension of the work that the Asia PGI wants to do in the region.
Launched officially in June 2022 with the Duke-NUS Centre for Outbreak Preparedness, the Asia PGI aims to accelerate genomic sequencing for infectious disease surveillance and public health utility across South Asia and South-east Asia.
To support countries across the region, the Asia PGI draws many partners together including several Duke-NUS research programmes, the National University of Singapore’s Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health and Centre for International Law, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, and the Singapore Government’s Programme for Research in Epidemic Preparedness and Response.
The Asia PGI also got a boost from a grant provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Between June 2022 to March 2023, the Asia PGI has assessed the current state of pathogen genomic surveillance across 14 countries, and came up with a road map to address constraints, gaps in the system and how to quicken cross-country learning.
Meanwhile, establishing the academy will equip trainees with new skills that will be a crucial support to enhance early disease detection – be it spotting new diseases or identifying outbreaks of existing “priority diseases” in their countries be it dengue, tuberculosis and influenza, said Dr Pronyk, who leads the Duke-NUS Centre for Outbreak Preparedness, which hosts the secretariat for Asia PGI.
He added that there is currently no dedicated training facility for pathogen genomics to support and coordinate the development of such skills in Asia to support early disease detection and data sharing among the countries.
The participants, who came from 12 Asian countries including Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Nepal and India, are the first batch to complete training at the academy.
The first programme may have concluded on Sept 27, but the academy is already looking ahead.
It aims to provide training in laboratory practices and bioinformatics to 100 professionals from 14 Asian countries every year, and run the programme every quarter.
Bioinformatics covers a diverse range of analytical methods and tools that assist with the interpretation of genomic data, which is critical to decision-making.
Twenty-one laboratory and bioinformatics professionals from Asia spent a week in Singapore learning how to conduct genomic analysis in the community.
PHOTO: DUKE-NUS MEDICAL SCHOOL
Future training sessions will have participants learning how to do wastewater surveillance, where they can draw insights from sewage samples.
Such a practice has proven to be successful. For instance, wastewater testing was an early warning strategy that was effective in determining the extent of Covid-19 spread in Singapore from 2020 to 2022, and helped policymakers here decide what to do to stem the spread of the disease.
The progress of the work done at the Asia PGI, as well as its other collaborations here, has encouraged the foundation to look at doing more here.
Since it was established in 2000, the foundation has given out more than US$71.4 billion (S$97.7 billion) in grants until the fourth quarter of 2022 to enhance healthcare, reduce extreme poverty, and expand educational opportunities and access to information technology around the world, said Ms Gargee Ghosh, president of the foundation’s global policy and advocacy division.
In Singapore, the foundation has committed about US$30 million for projects from 2018 to 2025. These activities include:
A US$2 million grant to the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, under the leadership of Professor Teo Yik Ying, who is the dean of the school, Assistant Professor Yi Siyan and their teams. Their aim is to test and implement i-MoMCARE, a mobile phone health application to support community health volunteers in rural communities in Cambodia to increase coverage of and access to maternal and child health services;
Committing US$25million over five years from 2023 to partner with Temasek Trust for the Philanthropy Asia Alliance, which was launched in September at the 3rd Philanthropy Asia Summit;
Multiple partnerships with Singapore-based social investment network AVPN such as the Asia Gender Network in 2022 and the Covid Health Systems Response Fund in 2021.
Ms Gargee Ghosh, president of the foundation’s global policy and advocacy division, was in Singapore in September to seek out bigger partnerships with government leaders and philanthropists.
PHOTO: BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION
Ms Ghosh said that Singapore’s capabilities and progress in sectors such as healthcare, digital payments and philanthropy make the city-state suitable as a driver of social change in the region.
She was in Singapore in September to seek out bigger partnerships with government leaders and philanthropists to explore areas such as sanitation technologies that are impacted by climate change, research and development for drugs and diagnostics, and food systems.
Singapore’s policies, incentives, advisory services and the infrastructure make it an attractive place for family offices and foundations to consider giving, said Ms Ghosh.
“Philanthropy requires a comfort level and trust – and that gets to the subjective side – where if families see the offerings in Singapore as neutral, credible, in the interest of a broader good that will build trust in a way that unlocks giving.”
The foundation’s deepening philanthropic efforts here are in line with Singapore’s growing ambition to be a regional centre for giving. In a written reply to a parliamentary question in September, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said that Singapore has a “vibrant wealth management sector and growing philanthropy ecosystem”.
He pointed out how government agencies are working with the industry’s several building blocks to shepherd wealth to purposeful causes locally and in the region. These include building up philanthropy advisory talent and resources, facilitating partnerships and encouraging giving through tax and regulatory frameworks such as the Philanthropy Tax Incentive Scheme, where donors, who are qualified, can claim tax deduction for overseas donations.
Ms Ghosh said that it was the “smart” and “right” thing for Singapore to be a focal node and hub to share its learnings with other countries in the region. There is a pragmatic reason to do this, she added, given how interconnected economies are in this region. “In an integrated world, we need all boats to rise.”
