Latest news with #AACs
Business Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
EB Impact to launch initiatives to raise awareness of sustainability among seniors, youth
[SINGAPORE] Non-profit organisation EB Impact will launch two initiatives later this year to engage more youth and seniors with regard to sustainability and raise awareness of such issues, said executive director Gerald Wong on Friday (May 30) at the Seeds of Change gala. The Singapore-registered charity raised nearly S$200,000 for these initiatives at the event. The first initiative, also called Seeds of Change, is an intergenerational programme targeting seniors. Through partnerships with active ageing centres (AACs), EB Impact aims to increase awareness of sustainability issues while improving the well-being of the elderly. The programme will comprise urban farming and sewing activities, as well as hands-on craft projects within a makerspace. In an interview with The Business Times, Wong said that the idea came from wanting to provide 'more agency to seniors'. 'AACs want to reach a lot more seniors, and how do we do that? That's when I started thinking that we can use sustainability as a tool to bring these seniors to the AACs.' EB Impact will work with sector partners to train seniors, who can later on facilitate their own programmes and train others. The programme aims to engage 100 seniors across one to two AACs over the course of a year, and increase this to eight to 10 AACs over a three-year period. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 2 pm Lifestyle Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself. Sign Up Sign Up Wong added: 'The idea is to bring in people from all walks of life. We don't want AACs to be seen as just a place for seniors. Yes, it's focused on seniors, but why can't it be a community space?' There is potential for AACs to host cafes or shops where seniors can sell the products they make or harvest. These can be open to the public, thus bringing the community together. 'We can raise that awareness of sustainability and at the same time address a social issue, which is to get seniors to be more active and change the perception that they are active contributors to society rather than passive takers,' he said. To track progress, EB Impact will conduct well-being surveys and hold focus group discussions with seniors. It is also exploring partnering educational institutions to retrieve data and feedback on the effectiveness of the programme. EB Impact aims to kick-start Seeds of Change in the second half of this year. Something for the young ones too The second initiative is The Sustainability Youth Festival (TSYF), an annual event that offers a platform for youth to engage with sustainability topics. It will bring together students, schools, government agencies and corporate partners. TSYF will target young people from the primary school to tertiary levels, and aims to deepen their understanding about sustainability. It will comprise booths, which may be hosted by sector partners, as well as hands-on activities, learning experiences and small-group guided discussions. 'The main idea of TSYF boils down to making sustainability as accessible as possible,' Wong added. A key component of the festival is the TSYF Challenge, in which students can pitch sustainability solutions to win awards and grants to implement them in their communities. TSYF will take place on Aug 1 at Capitol Theatre. Established in 2019, EB Impact is dedicated to advancing the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals in Singapore and Asia, with a focus on youth and education. Last year, it launched a community space in partnership with City Developments Ltd, introduced an education grant with ComfortDelGro and ran its third edition of the Sustainability Media Academy for journalists.
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Health
- Straits Times
Some 800 seniors in 14 active ageing centres to benefit from new dementia prevention programme
The dementia prevention community programme will be rolled out to 14 active ageing centres by 2029. ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI Some 800 seniors in 14 active ageing centres to benefit from new dementia prevention programme SINGAPORE – About 800 seniors with mild or no cognitive impairment and their caregivers are set to benefit from a dementia prevention community programme which will be rolled out to 14 active ageing centres (AACs) by 2029. The IMPRESS-MIND2S programme is funded to the tune of about $3 million by the National Innovation Challenge on Active and Confident Ageing grant. It is slated to be piloted at the NTUC Health active ageing centre in Redhill in August 2025 for a start, with 60 seniors benefiting from the programme. The initiative, launched by healthcare cluster SingHealth, was announced by Senior Minister of State for Health Tan Kiat How on May 30 at the SingHealth Community Forum held at Singapore General Hospital. Under the programme, community nurses will use established screening tools like tests to detect those who have mild cognitive impairment and will benefit from the programme. These selected seniors will then receive personalised health coaching to manage dementia risk factors like diet, exercise, stress management and sleep; and have structured physical activity sessions at AACs. Seniors will also use elderly-friendly tablets called SilverPads to play specially designed games to improve their memory and executive function. Their caregivers will also receive education and support – for example, referrals to respite care and caregiver support groups – to lighten caregiver burden. All in, seniors are expected to attend about three sessions at their AACs a week. SingHealth worked with community partners such as Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities, Montfort Care, NTUC Health and Alkin Singapore to co-create the programme. Mr Tan pointed out that based on the second Well-being of the Singapore Elderly study, in 2023, one in 11 seniors aged 60 years and above had dementia. 'This goes beyond another health programme: it is a personalised approach to detecting and delaying cognitive decline, working with seniors who have mild or no cognitive impairment, and their caregivers. ' What makes this approach different from others is how it weaves interventions into daily life, with activities designed to naturally fit into seniors' existing routines,' said Mr Tan. Prof Low Lien Leng, director at SingHealth Centre for Population Health Research and Implementation, said that there is strong evidence that if dementia risk factors are controlled and cognitive function is improved, the risk of developing dementia is lowered. But such measures have not been implemented in the community, and the pilot will offer insights on how that can be done while keeping seniors interested and engaged. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
7 days ago
- Health
- Straits Times
Stronger support for seniors in the community; those seeking care to have one point of contact: MOH
Stronger support for seniors in the community; those seeking care to have one point of contact: MOH SINGAPORE - Plans to ensure seniors have a single point of contact for community care are in the works , as the authorities work on integrating such services for a fast-ageing population, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on May 28. Beyond expanding individual community services, integration will make it easier for families to access services and move between different ones , he said at the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) Community Care Work Plan Seminar 2025. Mr Ong, who was also appointed Coordinating Minister for Social Policies on May 21, laid out the vision for community care. 'It must be a system that every senior can count on, regardless of your health status. When you are well, community care prevents us from falling sick. If we are sick, it supports us to manage the disease and prevent it from progressing,' said Mr Ong. 'If we become frail, it supports our families to take care of us and organises the different services that we need. If our families are unable to take care of us, the system then steps in as a last resort.' The urgency to transform community care is unmistakable. By 2030, Singapore will have one million seniors aged 65 and above, with possibly half of them living with a chronic disease. The number of those who need help with at least one activity of daily living is expected to almost double within a decade, from an estimated 58,000 in 2020 to 100,000 in 2030. More seniors are also expected to be staying alone – from 76,000 in 2023 to 122,000 in 2030. Mr Ong listed three areas of change. Firstly, strong coordination is needed in the community care sector to tie together the various services as they expand. This will mean that seniors who need a combination of services to serve complex needs can move across services easily. Mr Ong said the Health Ministry (MOH) and AIC have reorganised community care into smaller sub-regions. Providers in each region are encouraged to form a network together , under a centre that will be the dedicated point of contact for seniors who need long-term care services. This so-called Integrated Community Care Provider will bring together the four commonly used services, namely those at Active Ageing Centres (AACs), day care services at Senior Care Centres, care at home under the Enhanced Home Personal Care service and rehabilitation at home under Home Therapy. 'To a family and to a senior, they should see it as just one service... with one contact, one coordination point,' said Mr Ong. This way, when a senior falls ill and needs rehabilitation or support services, the provider can help to put together the relevant services to restore him to health, said Mr Ong. If his conditions progress, it may then provide home personal care or other necessary services. When he recovers, he can return to the AAC to lead a more active lifestyle, he said. Secondly, efforts to make commu nity health services more accessible will be stepped up. Mr Ong said he heard from doctors that there are patients in their 40s and 50s seeking help at the hospital because of their diabetes, with a few even suffering from gangrene. Early actions, with a combination of lifestyle adjustments and medication, could have prevented progression of chronic diseases, have prevented the progression of their diseases. These patients could have done something earlier to prevent the progression of their diease, but they either did not know they were sick, or even if they knew and had enrolled in Healthier SG, they did not follow up with their health plan. This is a significant gap which community are can help close, Mr Ong said. 'For (Healthier SG) to be truly successful, we got to go beyond the GPs. The GPs needs to be supported and reinforced by effective community care services.' Mr Ong said the three healthcare clusters have set up community health posts, with about nine out of 10 AACs having one at or near their centres. Nurses at these centres can attend to patients. These posts can do more to help seniors, especially in catering to walk-ins. For instance, they can help seniors enrol in preventive health programme Healthier SG, which pairs each resident with a primary care physician, or follow up with their appointments and provide lifestyle coaching and health advice. Thirdly, outreach to seniors needs to step up, so the authorities will have information on every senior, and no one will die alone at home without anyone knowing. Silver Generation Ambassadors, People Association's volunteers and other volunteers have to work together to visit every household in the community, and share data so that every senior is known, Mr Ong said. He said the political office-holders in his ministry's refreshed team - Dr Koh Poh Koon, Mr Tan Kiat How and Ms Rahayu Mahzam - will all have a role in the community care sector. This includes areas such as manpower, coordination, community health posts and outreach. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Irish Times
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Letters to the Editor May 28th: On Leaving Cert delays; offshore energy and Jayne Mansfield
Sir, –In Carl O'Brien's article in Monday's edition ( Leaving Cert reforms to be delayed in two key subjects) , he reports on the decision to delay the introduction of new subject specifications for Senior Cycle English and Accounting, after 'education authorities acknowledged that more time is needed to prepare for the changes', specifically in the planning for the Additional Assessment Components (AACs) in those subjects. I think this is prudent from the Department of Education and the Minister, as it is imperative that every effort is made to build solid foundations for a successful reform of the Leaving Certificate. However, it is disappointing that the same good judgment isn't being applied as schools prepare for the introduction of complex AACs in Leaving Cert Biology, Chemistry and Physics, being introduced into our schools this September. There are arguably far greater logistical and equity issues with their introduction; namely, a lack of school laboratories in schools (including many disadvantaged schools), a lack of specialist scientific equipment in those labs, no updated laboratory safety guidance or (long promised) guidelines on artificial intelligence. READ MORE While the Department of Education have announced additional funding for science in schools, the chemical supply companies are struggling to meet demand for updated equipment and there is no mechanism for schools to upgrade or expand their existing laboratory provision until the summer of 2026. Despite these issues, which have been brought to the Minister's attention by the teaching unions, the Irish Science Teachers' Association (82 per cent of their members say their schools are not equipped to facilitate these assessments), leading educationalists like Áine Hyland, your own columnists (including Breda O'Brien) and even within the NCCA's Subject Development Groups, they have been consistently ignored. The ISTA's sensible proposal to delay the AACs in those subjects – to provide the necessary time to address these challenges – have fallen on deaf ears; the ISTA proposal would still see the new subject curriculums in schools in September. While it's assuring to see common sense prevail with the decision to delay the introduction of English and Accounting, one hopes there is more common sense to go around and a judicious delay on the AACs in the senior sciences is also considered strongly. – Yours, etc, HUMPHREY JONES, Chairperson, Irish Science Teachers' Association Dublin 16 Mother's nature Like Bríd Miller (Letters May 26th), I very much enjoy Brianna Parkins's columns. I too had a mother who had views on clothes. On seeing an outfit which she did not like she would say 'Is that the fashion?'. Quite daunting! – Yours, etc. ANNE DOHERTY, Dublin 7 Planning and wind energy Sir, – Kevin O'Sullivan's article ( 'Wind Energy Ireland warns immediate Government action needed 'to protect' offshore wind 'opportunity'' May 27th ) points to increasing pressure on the Government to accelerate offshore wind development. While the need for progress is clear, proposals to streamline the planning process raise valid concerns. An Bord Pleanála plays a key role in ensuring that large-scale projects are properly assessed, and that scrutiny must be maintained to ensure fair and accountable decision making. In response to recent planning applications, the Board issued extensive requests for further information on east-coast projects including marine mammal disturbance, migratory bird routes, underwater noise, sediment transport, and the impact on tourism assets. Similar information requests probe cumulative environmental effects, commercial-fisheries safeguards, subsea-cable routing and onshore traffic management. The developments in question are often proposed in ecologically sensitive nearshore areas which require careful and informed assessment. Even a well-resourced planning authority will typically need multiple rounds of detailed information to fully understand the potential effects on marine ecosystems before any decision can be made. This is a necessary part of a responsible and transparent planning process. It is surprising for industry spokespeople to suggest that such concerns should have been entirely resolved at 'pre-planning' stage. Modern offshore projects span hundreds of square kilometres and involve turbines over 300 metres tall. Fast-tracking or bypassing such an important democratic safeguard risks undermining the planning system that protects biodiversity and heritage and ensures compliance with European environmental law. Since the Arklow Bank turbines were built almost 25 years ago, our offshore ambitions have repeatedly stalled. The shared failure of government and industry to deliver substantial new capacity should prompt sober reflection, not finger-pointing. The wind lobby would do well to acknowledge the reasons behind the volume of further information requests and public objections to these offshore projects, rather than viewing them as obstacles. The Government must resist pressure to override proper planning procedures in pursuit of short-term targets. Only through a transparent, evidence-based process that respects ecosystems, communities and established planning norms can Ireland meet its 2030 renewables and climate commitments. – Yours, etc MICHAEL O'MEARA, Fenor, Co Waterford. The cycle continues Sir, – I am not anti cyclists per se, but I have a big problem with a large majority of them who think a red traffic light entitles them to continue cycling. I very seldom see a cyclist stop at a red light/pedestrian crossing. I have pedestrian lights outside my gate and have never seen a cyclist stop on red. Also, why is there no law enforcing people to wear a helmet and a reflective band of some sort? I simply do not understand anybody getting on a bike without a helmet. – Yours, etc, LAURA O'MARA, Stillorgan, Co Dublin. Sir, – As a cyclist in Dublin for several decades, I can identify with Joe Humphrey's article. I too have impure thoughts as I glide by immobile cars, stuck yet again, in a traffic jam. I am also convinced that it is the supreme way to travel, especially in a city. Of all the drivers in Dublin city, my greatest respect and admiration goes to bus drivers. When, by necessity, I am in a bus lane and know there is a bus behind me that is unable to pass me, the driver has never honked at me to get out of the way. Obviously, not choosing to be right in front of a bus, I do get out of the way when I can. Even with such a large vehicle, bus drivers are never threatening to me as a cyclist, and observe the rules of the road in signalling and pulling out. Would that all road users would follow their good example and show likewise tolerance for each other. In conclusion, I often think of the line from 'Oklahoma' 'The cowboy and the farmer can be friends.' – Yours , etc, KATHLEEN FORDE, Whitehall, Dublin 9. Some bus service Sir, – I flagged down a bus from Malaga to the famous caves of Tesoro. My bus card was the wrong type. A young couple offered to let me use theirs for free. An elderly lady did also. Even the bus driver said it was ok to come on board. Not one spoke a word of English. I wonder what the Spanish phrase for 'blown away' is? –Yours, etc DAVID CURRAN, Knocknacarra, Co Galway. High definition Sir, – Your article (Irish revolutionary Madeleine ffrench-Mullen to be honoured with plaque at childhood home, May 24th ) states that the aforementioned and her partner Kathleen Lynn were 'radical Irish nationalists despite coming from middle-class Protestant backgrounds.' Really – Wolfe Tone, Robert Emmet, Bulmer Hobson, Thomas Davis, Maud Gonne, Constance Gore-Booth? Maybe not as strict a delineation as the word 'despite' would suggest. –Yours, etc DAVID CLARKE, Edinburgh, Scotland. Jayne Mansfield comes to town On reading Tara Brady's report from the Cannes Film Festival (May19th) , and her coverage of Mariska Hargitay's documentary on Jayne Mansfield, 'My mom Jayne', I was taken straight back to Sunday, 23rd April, 1967 when my eleven-year-old self attended morning Mass in Saint John's Church, Tralee. The celebrant read out a letter from the Roman Catholic Bishop of Kerry, Denis Moynihan, giving a whack of the episcopal crozier to Ms Mansfield's planned appearance at the Mount Brandon Hotel's ballroom that very evening. Naturally, His Lordship did not deign to mention the American star by name, we were told that 'a woman is being brought here tonight', rather as if Jayne Mansfield was making her way from Shannon Airport to Kerry under duress. The solemnly read letter made it clear to the bishop's flock that attending the performance to be given by 'the Goddess of Lust' would adversely affect his diocese's moral fibre. Bishop Moynihan's subordinate, Tralee's parish priest, the Dean of Kerry, Monsignor John Lane, went further, thundering about 'this attempt to besmirch the name of our town for the sake of filthy gain'. Perhaps the real concern of both these pillars of moral rectitude was that the punters were expected to turf out 10 shillings, a considerable sum in the Ireland of the mid-1960s, to admire the talents of the American 'sex siren' who was to receive £1,000 for singing six songs over a mere 35 minutes on stage. However, such was the clout of clerical strictures back then that he Bishop and the Dean got their way, even if hundreds of people turned up at the hotel to witness the arrival of the 'working man's Marilyn Monroe'. A hastily convened press conference informed the nation that the backup band's van had sadly broken down on the road from Dublin. Jayne Mansfield's performance was consequently cancelled and the punters could keep their ten shillings while consoling themselves, at the usual Sunday night ticket price, with local band D.J. (Curtin) and the Kerry Blues who had been lined up to back the American star in the first place. The much-talented Mansfield was tragically killed in a car accident in Mississipi two months later, leaving five children motherless. Almost six decades later we can look back with a mixture of amusement, annoyance, nostalgia and outrage to a time when such an innocuous event as an artiste's ballroom appearance could cause considerable controversy and push all our problems firmly on to the back burner while we in Kerry talked about little else. – Yours, etc, STEPHEN O'SULLIVAN, Paris, France. Housing solution Sir, –The solution to Ireland's housing and infrastructure problem is simple: Declare an emergency, cut through the planning bureaucracy and bring in several thousand skilled workers at all levels for a period of up to five years. The latter could be housed in spare cruise liners berthed around our ports so as not to add to the housing problem. An expensive solution? Yes, but the payback over the subsequent decades would justify this approach. – Yours, etc, JOE DUNNE, Co Cork. Trump's Harvard campaign Sir, – You report that Donald Trump has intensified his campaign against Harvard university, describing its international students as including 'radicalised lunatics' and threatening to take away billions in grants ('Trump threatens to give €3 billion in Harvard grants to trade schools', World, May 27th) . This is part of a wider attack by his administration, of course, on free speech within US academia and, regrettably, there has been some degree of compliance. Fintan O'Toole, among others, has highlighted, for example, the apparent capitulation of New York's prestigious Columbia University to the unethical pressure it has been put under by an increasingly authoritarian Trump administration ('If US universities won't stand up to Trump, no one will', Opinion, May 20th). In all of this, there are profoundly consequential issues at stake regarding intellectual freedom, academic independence and, more generally, around the right to protest and publicly dissent. It is clear that these principles are under threat and not just in the United States. This attack on intellectual freedom has been framed by the Trump administration as a counteraction to the vile belief system of anti-Semitism, but this is self-evidently a Trojan horse and the primary impetus is ideological and aimed at undermining presumed strongholds of 'liberal' or 'woke' values. Nonetheless, it is particularly disturbing that this aggressive suppression of academic independence and free speech is being done in defence of Israel's actions in Gaza. We live in dark times. – Yours, etc, FINTAN LANE, Lucan, Co Dublin.
Hindustan Times
25-05-2025
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Punjab: Now, get free dengue tests at Aam Aadmi Clinics
The Punjab government has decided to offer free dengue tests at all 882 Aam Aadmi Clinics across the state. 'Dengue (NSI ELISA) testing has been initiated at all the Aam Aadmi Clinics (AACs) across Punjab through the public-private partnership (PPP) mode in collaboration with Path Care Labs,' reads the letter issued by Punjab health department director. Private labs charge anywhere between ₹1,000– ₹1,500 for the dengue tests. Before this decision, ELISA-based dengue tests were conducted at only district and civil hospitals. Consequently, patients were compelled to visit private labs for dengue testing. In the wake of intermittent rain over the past few days, health officials were on alert. They said that the prevailing weather conditions were conducive to dengue breeding. The state has already reported over 100 cases this season.
