Health ministry to inject $5m funding to traditional Chinese medicine sector

The additional funds will be released over the next five years.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) announced that it will be developing the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) sector by providing additional funding for TCM research and to support skills development and capability building for TCM professionals.

According to MOH, the government will provide a further funding of $5m over the next five years for the Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Grant (TCMRG) to encourage collaborative research between researchers in public healthcare institutions, TCM industry players and institutes of higher learning.

This is in addition to the $3m which had earlier been put aside for the TCM sector in December 2012 for the same purpose. To date, two grant calls have been made and we have received a total of 47 proposals.

Another priority area MOH mentioned is to help TCM practitioners stay relevant with their professional knowledge and encourage continual professional learning.

MOH will set up a $5m TCM Development Grant (TCMDG) to support skills development and capability building for TCM professionals.

"The TCMDG aims to provide co-funding for training and professional development of all registered TCM practitioners and acupuncturists, including TCM allied healthcare workers such as clinic assistants and herbal dispensers listed with TCM Practitioners’ Board (TCMP Board)," MOH noted.

Applications for the grant will commence on January 2018.