The 2025 recipient of the Leadership Excellence Award for Singapore is the Health Promotion Board.

In Singapore, visionary leadership has transformed sleep into a powerful tool for national well-being. Guided by a clear mission to build a healthier nation, the Health Promotion Board has championed person-centred design, bold innovation, and a steadfast commitment to excellence.

Recognising that sleep is fundamental to both physical and mental health, the team set out to make healthy routines simple, accessible, and rewarding. In 2021, they launched the National Sleep Challenge, inviting residents aged 15 and above to wear a sleep-enabled tracker, sync it to an app, earn incentives, and receive personalised nudges, turning good intentions into sustainable habits.

What began as a pilot has evolved into a nationwide initiative that blends digital phenotyping with behavioural science. The results speak for themselves. More than 674,000 participants have taken part, and median sleep duration has increased from 5.9 to 6.5 hours, a meaningful improvement with significant implications for mental well-being.

This transformative, evidence-informed initiative demonstrates how innovative public health design can shift population-level behaviour and strengthen national well-being. It stands as a model of leadership, creativity, and impact.

Congratulations to the Health Promotion Board.