SINGAPORE – A comprehensive, lifelong shift towards preventive care is essential to close the health-span gap for women.
This is critical as women are living longer than men, but spending a significantly larger portion of those extra years in ill health.
Making these comments at a panel discussion on Oct 8, Jill Biden, chair of the Milken Institute Women’s Health Network, called for a comprehensive medical road map that guides women through every stage of life.
“Women really want a road map about where their health is, where it’s going, and that should really start when women get their first periods, and then all through till the end of life,” she said, noting that female biology is under-researched.
As the former first lady of the US, she had spearheaded the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research to advance federal funding.
The panel, moderated by executive vice-president of health from the Milken Institute Esther Krofah, took place at the 13th Milken Institute Asia Summit at the Four Seasons Hotel in Singapore.
Reflecting on her own experience, Biden recalled her own frustration navigating menopause three decades ago, when clear medical guidance was sparse and the topic was taboo. She said conditions like osteoporosis must be addressed earlier through proactive education and targeted care.
Singapore’s Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, who was in conversation with Biden, positioned the nation as a potential reference model for putting solutions into practice.
“Singapore can be that urban environment that will provide that test bed that makes things work,” he said, hoping that the industry would then find gender-specific research and prevention worth investing in.
“Once you’re focused on healthy longevity, you will recognise that women have a bigger challenge because biologically women have… a lot more health vulnerabilities than men,” Ong said.
“The tide has changed, and there will be more focus, and there will be more female mice in the future.”
Ong said that in Singapore, women live to an average age of 84, but spend 12 years in ill health compared with less than 10 years for men.
The panellists also discussed the prevalence of sarcopenia, or age-related muscle loss, and that more education is needed to address it.
Translating this need into policy, Ong had announced earlier this week that screening tests for osteoporosis and sarcopenia will be offered through general practitioner clinics under Singapore’s preventive health programme, Healthier SG. This roll-out ensures that individuals requiring early intervention can be identified.
Once identified, the individuals will be referred to active ageing centres where they can access coaches, fitness training, and weightlifting, without having to sign up for an expensive gym package, he said.
“Preventive health and population health has to be made accessible. It is not in the clinic; it is in the community. It’s in homes,” said Ong.
Besides muscular and bone health, Singapore has also expanded its preventive framework to combat life-threatening hereditary diseases.
The nation will subsidise genetic testing for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer from December 2026, while allowing MediShield Life and MediSave to offset the costs of risk-reducing surgeries.
These targeted moves align with a broader shift in the country’s healthcare focus towards preventive, predictive, and personalised care.
Unlike countries where healthcare spending eats up 10% to 17% of gross domestic product, Singapore currently spends roughly 4.5% of its GDP on healthcare. Ong said this gives Singapore the fiscal headroom to split resources between acute hospital care and preventive care.
In closing, Biden urged the audience to do something to move women’s health forward, be it through targeted investments, personal learning or educating others about it.
“Going forward, you know, we can have all these conversations, but we’re going to be remembered is by the changes and the improvements we make now.”