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- Speaker: Khor Swee Kheng (Physician/CEO, Angsana Health）
- Moderator: Yoshiyuki Sagara (Senior Research Fellow, International House of Japan / Asia Pacific Initiative)
- Language: English with Japanese subtitles
- Release Date: January 12, 2023
- Organizer: International House of Japan
- Sponsor: MRA Foundation
It has been three years since the outbreak of COVID-19, during which the number of deaths per population in East Asia have been low compared to Europe and the United States. In this webinar, Khor Swee Kheng, a Malaysian physician who serves as CEO of Angsana Health—a company established to establish an initial medical care system—will speak about how Malaysia confronted COVID-19 and its repercussions. The interview was led by Yoshiyuki Sagara, an I-House/API senior research fellow who was involved in the policy review of Japan’s pandemic response as co-author of a review report on the Japanese government’s response to COVID-19. Khor described how the government and civil society responded in Malaysia, what lessons were learned, and what challenges lie ahead in global health.
Archive Video
Dr. Khor Swee Kheng is a Malaysian physician specializing in health systems and global health based in Singapore. He is CEO of Angsana Health (building primary care systems), has concurrent appointments at Chatham House, the National University of Singapore, and the United Nations University and advises the Malaysian government on health reforms. Previously, he held progressively senior practice roles in medicine, refugee medicine, and Fortune 100 pharma. In these roles, he was based in Malaysia, Singapore, Dubai, Shanghai, and Paris, covering Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. He holds three postgraduate degrees, in internal medicine (Royal College of Physicians), public health (Berkeley) and public policy (Oxford), and has published over 190 articles in international academic journals, think-tanks, and the media (including the Council on Foreign Relations, Foreign Affairs, The Lancet, and Project Syndicate).
Mr.Yoshiyuki Sagara’s research focuses on health security policy including the COVID-19 response, international conflicts, Japan’s foreign policy, and economic statecraft. Before joining API in 2020, he had 15 years of experience working in the Japanese government and the United Nations system, as well as in the tech industry. From 2018 to 2020, he served as assistant director of the Second Northeast Asia Division (North Korea desk) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. From 2015 to 2018, he served in the Guidance and Learning Unit within the Policy and Mediation Division of the UN Department of Political Affairs in New York. Previously, he also served in the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Sudan of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). He is a co-author of The Independent Investigation Commission on the Japanese Government’s Response to COVID-19: Report on Best Practices and Lessons Learned. He holds a master of public policy from the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo and a BA in law from Keio University.