2: A Brief History of Public Health in Singapore

By nature, public health is a multi-disciplinary and inter-sectoral field that must be seen in the context of the history and development of a country. It is closely tied to socio-economic changes, especially in the case of Singapore, a relatively young nation. The dramatic transformation of this small island nation from a fishing village to a first-world metropolis in less than 200 years is a clear example of this comprehensive development, driven almost entirely by sheer human effort and hard work…