It was a whirlwind few days for EVYD Technology CEO Chua Ming Jie when he attended the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland from 23-25 May 2022. But he fully relished the meeting of minds among political, business, cultural and other society leaders to explore ways to drive positive change in the world by shaping global, regional and industry agendas. He also shared his thoughts on the problems faced by the healthcare sector globally, and how we can leverage artificial intelligence and big data to make healthcare systems more efficient and improve the provision of care for everyone. 

These are five key takeaways from the meeting that resonate with us at EVYD: 

First, COVID-19 has accelerated the adoption of digital technology. While COVID-19 was a devastating pandemic that wreaked havoc on lives and livelihoods, its silver lining has been to accelerate the adoption of digital technology across various sectors. This has created new jobs to help ameliorate the pandemic’s impact on other livelihoods. Different stakeholders should come together – especially collaboration between the public and private sectors – to ensure we sustain this momentum and prepare our economies and social fabrics for further digitalization and ensure digital inclusiveness. The different countries of ASEAN should also work together, to tap on a combined larger market and total human capital.  

Second, talents and capital are critical in enabling a knowledge economy. In a digitalized world, different sectors and industries are increasingly competing for the same talents, but not all industries enjoy the same economics. Healthcare, for example, is a sector where margins are slim.  

When it comes to capital, market volatility can disrupt innovation. When sentiments are good, it is easier to get access to funding, and we see a lot of money pouring into undifferentiated technologies which end up performing badly, resulting in a lot of waste in the process. This may then swing sentiment to the other extreme where real, differentiating technology struggles to raise capital to sustain their innovation, and we are starting to see some of this happening. Technology adoption takes time, especially in healthcare, but we have to continue to invest in and reward innovation that can and does make a difference, and EVYD is committed to continuing to improve our technologies. 

Third, the entire value chain requires close collaborations between the public and private sectors. This spans all the way from upstream research and development (R&D) to downstream distribution and the last mile. An example of this is what EVYD has done in partnership with the Ministry of Health, Brunei in managing the COVID-19 pandemic: from helping to identify people eligible for vaccination and prioritizing segments of the population at higher risk when supply was tight initially; to sending targeted nudges to people to get vaccinated; and enabling online appointment booking and auto scheduling to reduce inventory waste.   

Fourth, we need to step up our pandemic preparedness to better handle any future outbreaks. This includes identifying an outbreak early and mobilizing resources to deal with it before it spreads to other countries.  In Brunei, we have built upon our initial work with the Ministry of Health around COVID-19 during the early stages of the pandemic, with the National Infectious Diseases surveillance platform, which allows 32 priority diseases to be tracked and actionable insights to be generated. Following on this, EVYD, together with the ministry, is also a proud supporter of the proposed ASEAN EOC (Emergency Operations Center) Network Rumour Surveillance platform. The automated rumour surveillance dashboard will supplement the ASEAN Portal for Public Health Emergencies (PHE) as a synchronous and dynamic information monitoring platform for potential PHEs.  

Fifth, we need to move from healthcare to health. As it costs so much more to cure people when they get ill, we need to focus our efforts on disease prevention, including keeping the population healthy by focusing on wellness and primary care. Singapore has launched the Healthier SG initiative, under which every resident is encouraged to see one regular doctor of his/her choice for the long term. This enables the doctor to have a more holistic view of the individual’s health, including being able to better advise on steps to stay healthy without the need for medication.  

These are only a few examples of the work that EVYD has done with governments and healthcare organizations in Southeast Asia. Our successful partnerships with the authorities and ministries in Brunei, Singapore and other parts of Southeast Asia are resounding testimonies of private and public sector collaboration to accelerate technology adoption to improve people’s health, and build a future where healthcare is more accessible, safer and better for all. 

These are only a few examples of the work that EVYD has done with governments and healthcare organizations in Southeast Asia. Our successful partnerships with the authorities and ministries in Brunei, Singapore and other parts of Southeast Asia are resounding testimonies of private and public sector collaboration to accelerate technology adoption to improve people’s health, and build a future where healthcare is more accessible, safer and better for all.