Epidemic control measures such as surveillance, social distancing, and
quarantine require widespread support from the general public for them to be
effective. Singapore’s experiences with SARS strongly suggest that risk mitigating
measures can be effective only when a range of partners and stakeholders (such as
government ministries, non-profit organizations, and grass-roots communities)
become adequately involved. This is also critical to disaster risk management.
Whether all of these aspects are transferrable elsewhere needs to be assessed in future research. Nonetheless, this unique discipline certainly has helped Singapore
come out of public health crises on a regular basis. Singapore’s response to the
outbreak of SARS offers valuable insights into the kinds approaches needed to
combat future pandemics, especially in Southeast Asia.