Health News

on April 13, 2025 at 2:08 am

GENEVA - Members of the World Health Organisation are close to a deal on a treaty to prepare for future pandemics, sources involved in the talks told Reuters on Saturday (April 12), with a WHO spokesperson saying discussions had been paused until Tuesday. The pact, which has been arduously negotiated for three years and which would be legally binding, is intended to shore up the world's defences against new pathogens after the Covid-19 pandemic killed millions of people in 2020-22. "They (the talks) went overnight until 9am (Saturday) but didn't manage to resolve the final issues," one source involved in the discussions in Geneva said. A diplomatic source in Geneva added that "big advancement was made ... almost all the treaty was agreed upon with few outstanding yet crucial issues". The talks missed a key deadline last year despite several rounds of late-night talks. The negotiating body's co-chair had earlier told the AFP news agency that it had reached an agreement "in principle". […]

by Stephanie Yeo on April 12, 2025 at 6:23 am

SINGAPORE – When Aisyah (not her real name), 30, could not consummate her marriage in 2022, she and her husband knew that "something was wrong". They searched online and found out about vaginismus, a condition in which the vagina tightens involuntarily, preventing penetration. Thinking it could be psychological, the couple sought help at a public hospital. Aisyah tried dilator therapy, which involves using medical tools to help stretch vaginal tissue. She also learnt to desensitise her feelings of fear around sex, which was a taboo topic growing up. The couple was promptly discharged after they managed penetration once. She and her husband, 31, later visited a pelvic floor physiotherapist and a sexual health counsellor, without success. "One-and-a-half years into the journey, we didn't know why it was still so difficult to have sexual intercourse. Nobody had the right answers," says Aisyah, who works in healthcare. She tried starting conversations about sexual health with her friends of different races and faiths, but they were too shy to open up. […]

by Dana Leong on April 3, 2025 at 5:08 am

Since getting its clinic licence revoked by the Ministry of Health (MOH) last year for providing teleconsultations that were too brief, MaNaDr says it has implemented more stringent protocols to avoid such lapses in service moving forward. During a press conference held on Wednesday (April 2), telehealth provider MaNaDr's co-founder and chief executive officer Siaw Tung Yeng said that doctors using the platform will now need to conduct teleconsultations for at least one minute before medical certificates can be provided to patients, reported CNA. At the same time, MaNaDr will also be tightening onboarding processes for doctors and clinics using the platform, he said. The firm has since employed the use of an AI-powered note-taker which will transcribe doctor-patient conversations and implemented mandatory audio recordings. […]

on March 29, 2025 at 1:00 pm

We've all had it hammered into our heads that we should see the dentist once every six months for regular checkups. But if we followed that advice down to a T, we'd be walking around with holes in our pockets-affordable dentists in Singapore aren't exactly easy to come by. If you're taking particularly good care of your teeth, you can stretch it to once in 18 months or two years. However, it pays to visit regularly as you want to catch problems like tooth decay early. Let them fester, and they'd cost a lot more to solve. So there's no way around it-you should see a dentist regularly to do a basic check-up and teeth cleaning (scaling and polishing). Here are seven of the most affordable dental clinics in Singapore where you can do that. […]

by Carol Ong on March 20, 2025 at 6:12 am

Today is World Oral Health Day (March 20), so it's the perfect time to talk about the importance of good oral hygiene and its impact on our overall health — which might be more significant than we realise.  If you think the worst that could happen if you didn't take care of your oral health are cavities and the occasional toothache — you might need to think again. Research has shown a link between people who have poor oral health (such as gum disease or tooth loss) and higher rates of cardiovascular problems such as a heart attack or stroke than people with good oral health, according to Harvard Health. But how and why do these two seemingly unrelated body parts affect each other?   A study by the American Journal of Medicine noted that gum disease can potentially lead to "deteriorating cardiovascular health due to chronic systemic inflammatory disease". […]

by Carol Ong on March 15, 2025 at 5:30 am

Fasting from dawn to dusk during Ramadan can be a challenge for many, especially when it comes to staying energised throughout the day.   And as the fasting month transitions to Hari Raya Puasa or Aidilfitri, a time of festivities and feasting, it’s easy to get caught up in indulgence.   To help you achieve a successful and healthy Ramadan and Hari Raya, here are some tips and insights from dietary and nutrition experts on how to stay on top of your health during this period.  During Ramadan, fasting lasts from dawn to dusk.   The number of hours is dependent on the region, and in Singapore, the fasting time is around 13 hours a day, according to the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (or Muis).   This means for people who are fasting, their daily diets would be affected — including their appetite during mealtimes.   Some might see a drop in their appetite, feeling full quicker, while some might crave for more indulgent food after a day of not eating. &nbs […]

on March 14, 2025 at 7:21 am

SEOUL — South Korea has confirmed a foot-and-mouth disease case in a cattle farm, the first such outbreak in nearly two years, the agriculture ministry said on Friday (March 14). The case, the first in the country since May 2023, was reported in a cattle farm in the southwestern Jeollanam-do province, the ministry said in a statement, adding that about 180 cattle in the farm would be culled. The government has since raised the alert, stepping up disinfecting efforts in the region, according to the ministry. Foot-and-mouth disease causes fever and mouth blisters in cloven-hoofed ruminants such as cattle, swine, sheep and goats. […]

on March 11, 2025 at 4:35 am

SINGAPORE — Only seven countries met World Health Organisation (WHO) air quality standards last year, data showed on Tuesday (March 11), as researchers warned that the war on smog would only get harder after the United States shut down its global monitoring efforts. Chad and Bangladesh were the world's most polluted countries in 2024, with average smog levels more than 15 times higher than WHO guidelines, according to figures compiled by Swiss air quality monitoring firm IQAir. Only Australia, New Zealand, the Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Estonia and Iceland made the grade, IQAir said. Significant data gaps, especially in Asia and Africa, cloud the worldwide picture, and many developing countries have relied on air quality sensors mounted on US embassy and consulate buildings to track their smog levels. However, the State Department has recently ended the scheme, citing budget constraints, with more than 17 years of data removed last week from the US government's official air quality monitoring site, airnow.gov, including readings collected in Chad. […]

by Dana Leong on March 7, 2025 at 9:30 am

Mental health experts have expressed concern over the rise in the number of unqualified individuals providing counselling services online, which they say have the potential for "misdiagnosis, ineffective or harmful interventions, and breaches of confidentiality". Said James Chong, Clinical Director at The Lion Mind, a non-profit organisation: "Being a 'good listener' is mistakenly equated with having the qualifications to provide effective counselling." This comes after instances of unaccredited individuals offering mental health services were found on the online marketplace Carousell with some offering free counselling, while others charge up to $70 per session. […]

on March 4, 2025 at 3:16 am

LONDON — The eradication of polio as a global health threat may be delayed unless US funding cuts — potentially totalling hundreds of millions of dollars over several years — are reversed, a senior World Health Organisation (WHO) official has warned. The WHO works with groups such as Unicef and the Gates Foundation to end polio. The planned withdrawal of the US from WHO has impacted efforts, including stopping collaboration with the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Last week, Unicef's polio grant was terminated as the State Department cut 90 per cent of USAID’s grants worldwide to align aid with President Donald Trump’s America First policy. In total, the partnership is missing US$133 million (S$179 million) from the US that was expected this year, said Hamid Jafari, director of the polio eradication programme for the WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean region. The area includes two countries where a wild form of polio is spreading: Afghanistan and Pakistan. […]