SINGAPORE – Woodlands is set to be the first town in Singapore to implement health initiatives specifically tailored to its residents, according to a tender by the Health Promotion Board (HPB) published on government procurement portal GeBIZ on Dec 16.
To that end, HPB is looking to appoint a contractor to help equip community leaders, volunteers from active ageing centres and grassroots organisations with the know-how to run health activities that cater to Woodlands residents and drive changes in their health behaviour.
HPB said the activities would be co-designed with residents and partners, taking into consideration the cultural context, as well as the needs of diverse groups such as seniors who are inactive, lower-income families, youth and various ethnic communities.
This will turn Woodlands into Singapore’s first Health Promoting Town – a pilot scheme under Healthier SG that aims to “make healthy living the easy and natural choice for residents”, according to tender documents.
As the tender process will close on Jan 16, 2026, HPB declined to provide more details of the pilot scheme, including why Woodlands was selected as the first town for it and future scaling-up plans.
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said in October that residents in the three big towns in the north of Singapore – Yishun, Sembawang and Woodlands – have a higher prevalence of chronic illness, compared with residents in the rest of the Republic.
While the reasons for this require deep study, “I think what we can do immediately is to set up all our efforts in population health and preventive health in the north”, said Mr Ong.
According to the tender documents seen by The Straits Times, the contractor is expected to guide community leaders and volunteers in using relevant information, such as the residents’ clinical data from the public healthcare clusters, in running the various health initiatives.
Relevant information also includes health data collected through HPB’s Healthy 365 mobile application, and information about the residents’ level of physical activity through HPB’s fitness tracker.
In addition, HPB’s Healthy Living Environment research over the years is useful as it has examined how Singapore’s built, living and digital environments shape residents’ daily health behaviours, including their physical activity, diet, sleep and mental well-being.
To help the community partners in motivating residents to adopt healthier practices, factors such as cultural nuances and literacy levels will be taken into account.
The contractor is expected to develop 12 to 15 community health activation strategies, covering areas such as physical activity, nutrition, sleep and mental well-being.
Each strategy will outline the intended behavioural outcome and information on resources, manpower and logistics needed; suggested messages and communication approaches; risk or safety considerations; and simple indicators for monitoring outcomes, among other things.
HPB said the contractor should engage the residents and co-create content that reflects their lived experiences, while also taking into account the unique physical and demographic characteristics of the town.
It will provide “step-by-step implementation guidance” for community partners to readily execute the plans, and “should be adaptable for future towns”.
HPB said: “By providing practical tools and data-driven insights, the playbook seeks to enable communities with the know-how to run health activities tailored to local needs, creating environments where healthy choices become the easy and natural option in places where Singaporeans live, work and play.”
The tender is expected to be awarded in May 2026. Following which, the playbook development will commence, with a delivery deadline one year later.
With various plans and infrastructural upgrades in the works, Woodlands will be reshaped and transformed into a modern and vibrant regional centre, said
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in his National Day Rally speech
on Aug 17.
Plans include more homes to be built along the Woodlands waterfront, the expansion of Woodlands Checkpoint to five times its current size, and the opening of the
Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link
by the end of 2026.
Health Promotion BoardHealthier SGWoodlands
