MOH's mission is to

A total budget of $1,790 million has been allocated to MOH in FY2005 to achieve this mission.

Build a Healthy Population
The first priority of our healthcare system is to build a healthy population. Keeping Singaporeans healthy minimises the need for costly interventions subsequently and therefore helps keep healthcare costs down.

$85 million is set aside for health education and promotion initiatives under the Health Promotion Board, such as the National Healthy Lifestyle Programme, National Smoking Control Programme, Workplace Health Promotion Programme, Nutrition Programme, Mental Health Promotion Programme, National Myopia Prevention Programme, School Health Programme, Secondary Schools Dental Care Programme and National Cancer Screening Programme for Women.

Ensure Affordable Healthcare Services
$1,321 million is set aside as subsidies for Singaporeans requiring:

Primary care provided at 17 polyclinics under Singapore Health Services and National Healthcare Group clusters.

Step-down care provided at 71 voluntary welfare organisations, including nursing homes, community hospitals, day care centres for the elderly and hospices.

Secondary and Tertiary care (e.g. Specialist Outpatient Clinics and inpatient care) provided at 13 public hospitals and healthcare institutions under Singapore Health Services and National Healthcare Group clusters.

This amount also caters for the new measures put in place at the healthcare institutions to prevent, contain and control SARS and other disease outbreaks.

Ensure Adequate Healthcare Financing
ElderShield is an affordable severe disability insurance scheme to provide insurance coverage for elderly Singaporeans who require long-term care. ElderShield will provide them with basic financial protection and help them defray out-of-pocket expenses in the event of severe disabilities. For Singaporeans who are not eligible to join ElderShield due to the age limit or pre-existing disabilities, the Interim Disability Assistance Programme (IDAPE) provides the desired medical coverage for the long-term care required.

$17 million is set aside to help the elderly pay for ElderShield premiums and as IDAPE payouts.

Service Development & Research
$69 million is allocated to develop our clinical capabilities and improve the quality of patient care. The Health Services Development Programme augments existing funding for new medical capability development in our public healthcare system. We will also continue to invest in medical research through the National Medical Research Council.

Training
The quality of our healthcare services depends greatly on the calibre of our healthcare professionals. $61 million is set aside to ensure that our medical undergraduates and specialists, para-medical and allied health professionals continue to receive high quality training.