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The agency will undertake initiatives such as refreshing national pandemic plans and working with like-minded partners as part of the strategy to 'prepare, prevent, and protect' as it tackles infectious disease threats.
Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) recently officially unveiled the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA), a public health agency that aims to protect the nation from infectious diseases.
Launched by Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong, the CDA consolidates the public health and scientific expertise, operational and policy capabilities, and surveillance and analytics skills and systems, which formerly resided across MOH, the National Centre for Infectious Diseases and Health Promotion Board.
Commenting on this consolidation in his speech at the event, PM Wong said: "By combining medical, policy and operational functions under one roof, the CDA will enhance collaboration, knowledge sharing and capability development."
Since its operations on 1 April 2025, CDA has introduced various initiatives to continue strengthening nationwide public health defences against infectious diseases, including the Singapore Pandemic Preparedness and Response Framework which aims to bolster Singapore’s pandemic readiness, and updating the National Adult Immunisation Schedule in September to strengthen Singapore's immunisation policy by including the Shingrix and PCV20 vaccines in the schedules.
Prepare, prevent, protect
To address Singapore's infectious disease challenges, the CDA has come up with a strategy built on three pillars: Prepare, prevent and protect. This integrated approach enables CDA to tackle current and future infectious disease threats.
Prepare: The national Programme for Research in Epidemic Preparedness and REsponse (PREPARE) under CDA strengthens Singapore’s research capabilities to prepare for and respond to current and future threats.
Prevent: CDA will continue to review and enhance the immunisation framework to protect the population, as well as work alongside healthcare institutions to further strengthen infection prevention and control by developing national guidelines and standards.
In addition, CDA will also roll out targeted education efforts to increase public awareness of preventive measures and drive behavioural change, as well as keep healthcare professionals equipped with up-to-date knowledge and skills.
Protect: CDA will update the national surveillance strategy to strengthen early detection, enhance collaboration, and leverage new technologies, such as genomic and wastewater surveillance, to better anticipate and respond to disease threats.
Furthermore, CDA will also enhance its laboratory capabilities of rapid detection and timely characterisation of pathogens by leveraging cutting-edge diagnostic technologies, advancing whole genome sequencing and strengthening data integration systems.
Journey of continuous improvement
Sharing his thoughts on each of the three pillars, PM Wong said despite global collaboration to strengthen preparedness and response, momentum has slowed. "Memories of Covid are fading, and support for multilateralism, more generally in today’s fractured and contested world is weakening. Support for multilateralism in global health is also fragmenting.
"The reality is that this would just leave the world less prepared for the next pandemic."
To this effect, he emphasised the need for the CDA to re-double its efforts and work with like-minded partners – even around the world – to strengthen cooperation on disease surveillance, intelligence sharing, and R&D in areas like vaccines.
Secondly, PM Wong said the CDA will take the lead to refresh and update national pandemic plans, so as to stay alert to emerging risks, and ramp up buffers and defences when threats build up.
"And so, to do this work well, the CDA must work closely with its partners to continually review our stockpiles, our surge capacities and our capabilities – to ensure they remain both effective and sustainable."
Beyond plans on paper, PM Wong noted that the CDA and its partners will have to keep its systems warm, through regular exercises and simulations in order to stay quick and effective.
Lastly, CDA will build and sustain public trust as "without it, the best laid plans, the most advanced technology, even the best vaccines, will not be effective."
When people trust in the authorities to communicate truthfully and transparently, he added, it will be much easier to rally behind public health measures. Conversely, without trust, misinformation spreads and there is no unified response.
That is where "the CDA must be a trusted and authoritative source of accurate, clear and timely information – to help Singaporeans stay safe and be informed," PM Wong stressed.
Looking beyond pandemics, PM Wong highlighted that the CDA will also play an essential role in strengthening Singapore's resilience against endemic diseases.
"It will tackle important topics such as slowing the development of drug-resistant germs, improving infection prevention and control, and advancing scientific research to protect public health."
Concluding his statement, PM Wong said that the launch of the CDA builds on the strong foundations laid over decades, and represents a bold step forward to make a clear statement of the commitment and resolve to safeguard Singapore from the ever-present threat of infectious diseases.
READ MORE: Singapore's MOM to update Occupational Disease list effective 1 December 2025
Lead image / PM Wong Facebook
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