Materia Medica Malaysiana

Teamwork a must to fight outbreaks

KUALA LUMPUR: The emergence of health problems that transcend national boundaries has become a major challenge to many countries, especially within the Asia Pacific region, where tourism plays a big role in bringing in foreign exchange, said Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek.

“Thus, the strengthening of collaboration among countries, especially in the surveillance, prevention and control of communicable diseases, has become a priority in order to address the challenges posed by emerging and resurging infections.

“The SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak last year elicited an unprecedented level of regional and global co-operation among countries,” he said in his speech at the 57th World Health Assembly in Geneva.

Dr Chua said the world today had no real boundaries. Just as computer viruses could spread through the Internet, so too can the viruses of infectious disease spread across nations.

He said although there had been several meetings during the SARS outbreak to deal with the problem within the Asean region, it had not been enough to eradicate the transmission of other deadly diseases.

The minister also said that Malaysia was committed to the global eradication of poliomyelitis, initiated by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

During the Leaders of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference Summit held in Kuala Lumpur in October last year, member countries were urged to assist WHO in the “final push” to eradicate poliomyelitis and to finance the funding gap.

“To this effort, Malaysia is contributing US$1mil (RM3.8mil),” he said.

Dr Chua said the upcoming revision of the International Health Regulations (IHR), would also be more challenging to member countries especially in their implementation.

He said capacity building and ensuring that the necessary infrastructure and national legislations were in alignment with the IHR, again required co-operation and collaboration among countries, as it would not be possible for all countries with different levels of development to be able to implement all provisions of the IHR.

There was also the issue of non-compliance and its consequences, which might need to be addressed, he said.

Dr Chua said that the revision of the IHR should also explore the possibility of including provisions for strengthening control over the movement of infectious materials, as these can be sources of outbreaks.

“The stakes are high and the challenges are many, but I am sure with the strengthening of co-operation and collaboration among countries and among regions, and with the leadership and support of WHO, we can make this world a healthier place to live in,” he added. – Bernama