Project Sa’Bai: NUS students bring digital technology and affordable healthcare to Cambodian villages
Published: 20 Jun 2023
When it comes to improving the healthcare of a community, a sustainable approach is warranted — one that empowers the members themselves to both serve and receive care from the healthcare system.
This is what Project Sa’Bai, a medical mission under the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine) aims to achieve since 2006, serving the locals of the Phum Chreh village, Teuk Thla and Toul Kork in Cambodia, side by side local volunteers. This year, they’ve also expanded their services to the Chbar Ampov Tu Tang area.
During each trip, about 2,000 locals participate in the health screenings offered. This year, 61 patient referrals to local partner institutions have been made, where patients received specialised medical care at discounted rates.
The mission of Project Sa’Bai hinges greatly on ensuring the sustainability of healthcare among the locals. Tailoring their initiatives to suit the ever-changing needs of the Cambodian locals and healthcare system, in their recent trip from 11 May to 21 May 2023, they introduced a new biometrics system to improve the accessibility and record of patient data. They also expanded the Sa’Bai Card — a discount card initiative for all locals, which entitles them to discounts and subsidies at their partner clinics and hospitals, having more than 20 partner clinics and hospitals onboard this year.
This year, students from the School of Computing, National University of Singapore (NUS Computing) joined the mission, not only to ensure the biometrics system runs smoothly, but also to try their hand at health screenings and being on the ground with the locals.
Tapping on their digital capabilities, future collaboration will focus on digital literacy and education, as well as developing the system to include more functions, and expansion to fingerprint recognition, for easy identification and follow-up for patient care.
Partnering with their Sa’Bai Cambodian Wing, comprising medical, dental and pharmacy students from 2 Cambodian universities, University of Puthisastra (UP) and University of Health Sciences (UHS), Project Sa’Bai also conducts training for the healthcare students in Cambodia, translating the needs of the locals they interviewed into actionable plans.
“To be able to see our project out of the 3-year Covid hiatus, watch patients have their lives changed by our health screenings and see our project members gain valuable life lessons through humanitarian service have made this journey a rewarding one,” said Project Directors Beth Lim and Phee Shayne, both Phase II medical students.
“Moving forward, we hope to explore areas beyond the comfort zone of our current screening areas, to further reach out to the areas and people who can be redirected back to Cambodia’s healthcare system,” they added.
Mentored by Dr Ron Ng, ex-Project Director of Project Sa’Bai, and alumnus of NUS Medicine, Project Sa’Bai has blossomed into a 36-member team today. Serving over 2,000 locals and reaching out to over 100 Cambodian medical volunteers, they continue to carry the NUS Medicine spirit of paying it forward overseas.
