By YB Dr Zaliha Mustafa, Minister of Health Malaysia, and Dr Rabindra Abeyasinghe, WHO Representative for Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, and Singapore
World Health Day serves as an important opportunity to reflect on some of the major public health successes achieved globally that have improved peoples’ quality of life, as well as to look ahead at the challenges we must continue to tackle together.
The World Health Organization (WHO) was founded 75 years ago to bring about public health action, serve the vulnerable and achieve Health For All. Today, these goals are no less relevant than they were decades ago.
This year we also celebrate 65 years of strong collaboration and steadfast partnership between the health authorities in Malaysia and WHO. Ever since, Malaysia has continuously made remarkable progress in improving national health outcomes.
As a signatory to the 1978 Alma Ata Declaration, Malaysia affirmed health as a fundamental human right and achieved effective universal health coverage (UHC) in the 1980’s.
Smallpox was successfully eradicated in 1978, a year ahead of the WHO declaring the world free of this disease.
In 1984, Malaysia achieved and has since maintained the under-five mortality rate target for the Sustainable Development Goals.
The rates of many vaccine-preventable diseases have dropped significantly because of effective vaccination programmes, such as dramatically reduced incidence of malaria (including meeting the elimination targets for human malaria), the near elimination of lymphatic filariasis and significantly reduced fatalities from dengue fever. This includes Malaysia achievement of the global target on hepatitis B control in 2011, six years ahead of schedule.
Malaysia also became the first country in the Western Pacific Region to be certified by WHO for having eliminated mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV and syphilis.
Most recently, health authorities followed key WHO recommendations and guidance for a robust, whole-of-government and whole-of-society response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
And while fighting COVID-19, the country faced yet another public health emergency with a polio outbreak. The outbreak ended in 2021 following coordinated efforts to strengthen polio immunization for children, including citizens and non-citizens.
The foundation of these and other successes is strong Universal Health Care (UHC) - a significant achievement for any country. It offers financial protection and access to quality care, lifting people out of poverty, promoting the well-being of families and communities, and protecting against public health crises.
All these important milestones have been accomplished through the perseverance and dedication of Malaysia’s health workforce, the leadership of the government and policy makers, support, and collaboration with national and international partners and very importantly, the populations we serve.
Moving forward, Malaysia needs to face head on, the heavy burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and other health challenges such as its growing elderly proportion of the population.
Diabetes, heart disease and cancer are responsible for more than 70% of all diseases in the country. This is especially significant considering that Malaysia is expected to reach the status of an aged nation by 2030, with 15% of the population over 65 years. This means more people will be living a longer life, but not necessarily in good health.
Harmful habits like tobacco use, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity greatly contribute to this silent pandemic, but these behaviours can be influenced and changed.
While health authorities are responsible for developing health policies and making public health services widely available, for creating opportunities or providing the information and incentives that influence our choices, they are not responsible for our actions – only we are.
The engagement and empowerment of individuals, communities, and societies for increased self-care in health is thus critically important.
It is on us to modify our actions, put our health knowledge to use and engage in healthy behaviours to prevent the development or worsening of chronic disease and to improve our well-being. Behavioural science plays a crucial role in people’s decision-making process and can contribute to and complement other public health efforts that focus on non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. The Resolution entitled “Behavioural Science for Better Health” led by Malaysia was recently endorsed at the 152nd session of the WHO Executive Board. Addressing factors that affect peoples’ choices particularly in prioritizing their health is pertinent and YB Dr Zaliha Mustafa, Minister of Health Malaysia has often emphasized on the importance of health screening. As the adage goes, prevention is better than cure.
This can be achieved through health education, ensuring affordable, accessible, and high-quality health services to all communities and a skilled healthcare workforce to deliver people-centred care, fully utilized by an informed population.
Through the proposed health reforms, we must address the inequities in access to good quality services, ensure a strengthening of primary health care and address the risk factors to good health. These measures will address existing disparities and provide for improved health of the population, and thereby a strengthening of the economy.
Only together as policy makers, health professionals, partners, patients, and individuals, will we achieve #HealthForAll.