Personal Ownership Among Individuals, Employers, Government & Industry Leaders, First Step to Creating a Culture of Health in Singapore

Delegates acquired practical advice from industry experts¹ on how to successfully implement specific initiatives within their organisations to motivate behavioural change in the workplace and facilitate positive lifestyle changes for a healthier, more productive and engaged workforce.

In conjunction with the Summit, AIA Singapore hosted the inaugural AIA Vitality Dialogue Session this morning where 30 subject experts and thought leaders in health and wellness explored numerous ways to promote healthy living in Singapore with a focus on “What is required for Singapore to remain the world’s healthiest nation?” The discussion concluded with an agreement that Singapore, with technological leadership [1] and a strong public sector, is uniquely placed to explore more public-private partnerships to retain Singapore’s leading position as the world’s healthiest nation.

• While governments have tools such as regulation, taxation and education, there are limits to these as people want the freedom to choose. So it is about empowerment; governments empowering the private sector to empower individuals, shared Dr Derek Yach.
• Dr Jeremy Lim shared a particularly impressive example of how the Occupational Safety and Health Standards in the Philippines requires companies to allocate manpower to a Health and Safety Committee including physicians and/or nurses depending on company size. The presence of these medical personnel encourages companies to explore different ways they can help to improve their companies’ health.⁴
• Companies in Singapore are empowered to make the right choices as the Government and health industry increasingly come together to support them on their health journey. Examples include programmes such as AIA Vitality and Singapore’s Healthiest Workplace Survey, as well as HPB HealthHub, HPB Online and the Singapore Health Award, as shared by Mr Sim Beng Khoon. 

AIA Singapore’s efforts to promote health and wellness is in line with the nation’s Healthy Living Master Plan’s vision of bringing healthy living to the doorstep of every home, workplace and school.⁵

This includes the pioneering AIA Diabetes Care critical illness plan, specially curated AIA Quality Healthcare Partners panel of medical professionals, AIA Vitality Weekly Challenge mobile app, as well as two upcoming events: The Music Run^TM by AIA (6 May 2017) and FitnessFest 2017 by AIA (20-21 May 2017). 

Other initiatives include KidZania Singapore’s “AIA at the Stadium”, sponsorship of the Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and the AIA-SSSC (Singapore Spurs Supporters’ Club) Futsal Tournament and Carnival, to engage individuals and families through one of Singapore’s favourite sports, football. Most recently, AIA appointed David Beckham as its Global Ambassador to support the company in its goal of helping people in the Asia-Pacific region live longer, healthier, better lives. 

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Note to Editor: More videos, images and information available at www.linkedin.com/company/AIA-Singapore

1 Refer to Appendix A for list of speakers and panellists at the AIA Vitality Summit 2017
2 The Straits Times (2016), “Singapore among top seven tech-ready economies: WEF
3 Refer to Appendix B for more information on the Singapore’s Healthiest Workplace 2017 by AIA Vitality survey
4 Pragya Gupta (2015), “Did you know your company needs a nurse in the Philippines?” 
5 Ministry of Health Singapore (2014), “Healthy Living Master Plan”. 

Appendix A: Speakers and panellists at AIA Vitality Summit 2017

Appendix B: Singapore’s Healthiest Workplace 2017 by AIA Vitality

Singapore’s Healthiest Workplace 2017 by AIA Vitality is a complimentary survey for companies to gain valuable insights into their organisation's baseline wellness status which will in turn effectively steer their future wellness initiatives towards better business outcomes such as improved productivity and lower medical costs. 

This comprehensive survey based on the well-established “Britain’s Healthiest Workplace” seeks responses from both employers and employees to provide insights into corporate health.

Participating employers receive an in-depth report of their organisation’s overall state of health and benchmarking information. It will also offer practical suggestions on how companies can best support improvements in employee health to reap the commercial benefits of increased productivity and lower medical costs.

Employees will receive a personalised report containing their Vitality Age, a holistic science-based indicator of health which takes into account exercise, nutrition and stress levels.

Registrations are open till Monday, 15 May 2017: healthiestworkplace.aia.com

About AIA Vitality

In 2013, AIA Singapore became the first and only insurer to pay members as they get healthier with the launch of AIA Vitality.

AIA Singapore was also the first market to launch the AIA Vitality programme, a leading full scale wellness programme that works with individuals to make real change to their health. This is done by applying the principles of behavioural science; keeping individuals motivated by adding up the benefits of every healthy choice they make, no matter how small.

AIA Vitality is available to both individual policyholders and corporate clients, focusing on rewarding members for making choices that help them live a healthy life.

More information here: AIAVitality.com.sg