New fellowship programme helps healthcare staff to train less privileged peers overseas
Published: 02 Jun 2015
Hong Kong-based Fung Foundation and the National University of Singapore (NUS) have set up a US$2.1 million programme to support doctors in South-east Asia and China. The Fung Clinical Fellowship will involve expert faculty members from NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University Hospital and National University Health System. The fund will be invested in sending NUH staff or NUS medical faculty abroad to teach medical skills. It can also be used to bring young doctors and medical staff from developing countries to NUH to gain experience.
The Fung Clinical Fellowship programme was announced by global supplies management tycoon Victor Fung on 12 June at the Fung Healthcare Leadership Summit in Singapore. The donation of US$1 million (S$1.3 million) by the Fung Foundation was matched by the Singapore Government. Because the endowment will take time to generate returns, the Fung Foundation donated an additional US$100,000 for immediate use. Said Fung Foundation’s president, Professor Tsui Lap Chee: “This is our way of returning to the community.”
Associate Professor Sunil Sethi, who heads NUH’s department of laboratory medicine, said: “Previously, we had to plan these overseas trips on an ad-hoc basis, beg, steal or borrow to raise funds. Now we don’t need worry about funding. We can also plan for a series of programmes, so there is continuity in training overseas peers, not just a one-off thing.”
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