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Unmet Social Needs in Singapore

About this publication

The Lien Centre recently published its second of the Social Insight Research Series, a study titled Unmet Social Needs in Singapore: Singapore's social structures and policies, and their impact on six vulnerable communities.

Meeting needs is never a straightforward process. Each country will formulate policy, frame laws and channel resources based on its judgement and the priorities it sets for itself. In consequence, and no matter how able a country’s government, there will always be unmet social needs in the community. The same applies to Singapore.

Unmet Social Needs in Singapore begins with an understanding of needs in general. It then identifies the different levels of social protection that can be put in place to meet those needs. In the context of Singapore, the study then reviews the support structures—compulsory savings, public housing and the non-profit sector—that directly relate to those who need help in the community. In the process, the needs of six vulnerable groups—the disabled, mentally ill, single-person-headed poor households, silent workers, foreign workers and new communities—are identified and analysed.

For the full text of this report, click here.

Pivoting on this study, the Straits Times Saturday Special on 19 November carried an 8-page report on four of the vulnerable groups.