Singapore will further its cooperation in several areas of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), with the signing of the 7th Plan of Cooperation (POC) in TCM between Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MoH) and the PRC’s National Administration of TCM (NATCM) recently.

 

The 7th POC will build on the bilateral cooperation to further strengthen TCM-related collaborations between both countries for the benefit of patients. Areas include research, teaching, practice and regulation of TCM in both countries.

 

The POC was established under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between MoH and then-State Administration of TCM in 1999, which aims to facilitate bilateral cooperation and the mutual exchange of expertise and information on the teaching, practice and regulation of TCM between Singapore and the PRC.

 

The collaboration with NATCM has contributed significantly to the development of TCM education and research in Singapore. Since 1999, NATCM’s experts have worked with MOH’s TCM Practitioners Board on the qualifying examinations and training courses for TCM physicians and acupuncturists. NATCM has also provided advice for the evaluation of research proposals under the TCM Research Grant. As part of the collaboration, MoH has conducted Health Management Training Programmes for PRC government officials, as well as senior hospitals and universities administrators, to share on various aspects of Singapore’s healthcare system, including healthcare financing, regulations and hospital management.