"I don't think there's a single system in the world that spends as little as Singapore does in terms of percentage of GDP and gets the outcomes that it gets," said Dr Jim Yong Kim.
By Linette Lim, Channel NewsAsia, 18 Jul 2014
By Linette Lim, Channel NewsAsia, 18 Jul 2014
He told Channel NewsAsia that he extended his trip to Singapore, so that he can see for himself what makes it tick. "I don't think there's a single system in the world that spends as little as Singapore does in terms of percentage of GDP and gets the outcomes that it gets. That's why I'm here. I know that there're always challenges, and one of the challenges that has been talked about is getting more people to use the primary healthcare system first, "said Dr Kim.
"This is a problem that's common to many developed countries, and so it's one of the things that's been done very, very well - healthcare - but also we may even be able to bring some lessons here," said Dr Kim."
While in Vietnam and the Philippines, Dr Kim announced billions of dollars in loans for the two countries. Besides healthcare, he said he was interested to learn about Singapore's approach to urban planning and water management.
The visit is Dr Kim's first trip to Singapore, since he took office as the World Bank chief in 2012.
"The bottom line here is what we see in Singapore is we see a government that is extremely focused on execution, and actually delivering results for their population, which at the same time is completely open so that market forces and good government execution come together in the success story of Singapore," Dr Kim added.
"Every country in the world is trying to get there, to be able to have their government put together policies and execute in the way that Singapore is doing, while at the same time opening up their economy, so that foreign direct investment and companies from all over the world want to come here."
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