The 2nd ASEAN Digital Public Health Conference was held at the Empire Hotel, Brunei, from November 22 to 23, 2022. The event was also streamed online. Many stakeholders from the ASEAN countries participated in the conference. The main theme of this conference was ‘Health and Healthcare Beyond COVID-19: Building Forward Together.’
The conference was organized by EVYD Technology in association with the Brunei Investment Agency, National University of Singapore, and Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. Temasek Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Singapore, also supported the event.
After the success of the first ASEAN Digital Public Health Conference, this year’s conference had over 500 participants. It also featured more than 60 prominent speakers and moderators. They included ASEAN ministers, inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations, government authorities, industry leaders, and multidisciplinary experts.
An ASEAN Health Ministerial panel was also a part of this conference. The members of this panel had a discussion on ‘Building a Resilient ASEAN.’ Among the panel members was H.E. Dato Dr. Hj Md Isham bin Jaafar, Minister of Health, Brunei. Professor David Koh moderated the Health Ministerial Panel.
H.E. Dato Dr. Md Amin Liew Abdullah, Minister at The Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II, Brunei, participated in a fireside chat. It was moderated by Professor Annie Koh. H.E. Dato Amin spoke about the long-term perspective of Brunei toward healthcare spending on digital transformation. He also spoke on how the country was optimizing investments through technological innovation.
Three very important themes emerged in the 1.5 days of keynote addresses and panel discussions. One was the urgent need for greater collaboration across the region and sectors. The other two themes were the need for funding and greater investment in research.