Health Ministry allocates RM200 million to rebuild Kelantan clinics

The Malaysian Insider

The Health Ministry has put aside RM200 million to rebuild clinics in Kelantan which was hit by floods last December. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, May 30, 2015.The Health Ministry is rebuilding 11 rural clinics in Kelantan which were destroyed in the floods last December with an RM200 million allocation from the federal government.

Its Deputy Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahya said the clinics were being constructed in stages and were expected to be completed soon.

"We received RM200 million from the federal government so we are building new clinics in Kelantan," he told reporters after launching the Treated Water Pilot Project at Kampung Star yesterday.

In the meantime, he said, tents were being used as makeshift clinics but the ministry would replace these to provide more comfort for patients.

He added that the pilot project was a joint initiative between the ministry and the Rural and Regional Development Ministry to provide clean water for the 1,500 residents of the village.

"The project is the first in the country and if successful, will be implemented in other villages including in Sabah and Sarawak.

"From what I observe, modern and state of the art technology is being used to produce water that is so clean and need not be boiled to consume directly," he said. – Bernama, May 30, 2015.

Malaysia back to square one in dengue research

 The Star Online

GEORGE TOWN: Malaysia appears to be heading nowhere with dengue research.

The plan to release genetically altered male Aedes mosquitoes so that they cannot breed with wild females has proven too costly and impractical.

Another plan for a dengue vaccine by a pharmaceutical company which was slated to be marketed next month was shot down by the Health Ministry since it was not satisfied with the research data.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said the genetically changed mosquitoes were only useful in small areas but “dengue is all over the place” in Malaysia.

Dengue cases reached an all-time high of nearly 100,000 last year.

“We would have to flood the country with huge numbers of mosquitoes.

“We are concerned because nobody has studied the ecological effects of releasing such a huge number of genetically changed mosquitoes”

The genetic modification of Aedes came from Oxford University and Malaysia’s Institute of Medical Research tested it in the laboratory in 2006.

Speaking to reporters after launching the 9th National Conference for Clinical Research here yesterday, Dr Subramaniam also said the dengue vaccine’s clinical trials were completed and the pharmaceutical company wanted to market it.

“But the research data they gave us is not enough for us to use the vaccine on a large scale.

“We are back to square one with dengue research,” he said.

He said Malaysia had to take the lead in dengue research.

“We cannot rely on developed nations for medical discoveries which tend to be skewed towards issues they face.

“Malaysia has our own set of medical problems so we need to scale up our research,” he said.

Malaysia: Dengue cases top 45,000, ‘monkey malaria’ accounts for majority of human malaria cases

Outbreak News Today

Mosquito borne diseases are taking a significant role in the health of Malaysians as some 200 additionaldengue fever cases are reported on a daily basis and two out of three cases of malaria in the country are derived from monkeys, according to health officials.

Image/CDC

As of Friday, the Malaysia Health Ministry has reported 45,284 dengue fever cases in 2015. Of that total, 136 fatalities ( as of May 16) due to the virus have been documented.

In addition, just six months after we reported that 68 percent of malaria hospitalizations in Malaysia were due to infection with Plasmodium knowlesi,health officials report sixty-six per centor 2,584 out of 3,923 malaria cases reported in the country last year derived from monkey (zoonotic) malaria.

And that trend continues into 2015 according to Head of Health Ministry’s Vector-Borne Disease Sector Dr Rose Nani Mudin. She said in the first quarter of this year, 356 cases, or 67.6 per cent of the 527 cases of malaria were detected to be derived from monkeys.

The good news is the total malaria burden in the country has dropped significantly in recent decades, from the 10s of thousands in the 1990s to just under 4,000 last year.

Plasmodium knowlesi, “the fifth human malaria”, is mostly found is mostly found in South East Asian countries particularly in Borneo, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.

Health Ministry prepared to conduct screenings on Rohingya migrants

The Star Online

GEORGE TOWN: The Health Ministry is prepared to conduct health screenings on Rohingya migrants if they are accepted into the country, says Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya.

He said it was normal for health screenings to be conducted on foreign nationals when they were accepted to live in the country to ensure they were disease-free.

“We will carry out health screenings on them to make sure they are in good health,” he told reporters after a dinner hosted by the Malaysian Pharmaceutical Association at Batu Feringhi here Saturday.

Dr Hilmi added that it was necessary to ensure the migrants were free from diseases like tuberculosis and leptospirosis. – Bernama

Nurses question why govt hospital understaffed but grads jobless

BorneoPost Online 

KUCHING: Nurses working in a public sector hospital have questioned how it is possible for thousands of nursing graduates to be jobless when the hospital they work for is acutely short of nurses.

According to them, it was heartbreaking to read of the plight of the nursing graduates in thesundaypost as most wards in their hospital are understaffed.

They claimed many nurses often have to work double shifts, are forced to work overtime, while some cannot take their day off.

The nurses said they feared being overstretched and unable to give their patients the standard of care required.

“Imagine how you feel. When you are already half-dead working and yet you still get complaints. It is a very frustrating and demoralising thing,” said one nurse, who requested not to be identified.

The nurses said they have raised the matter with their immediate supervisors, but their superiors seemed powerless to make changes.

As such they were shocked to learn that so many qualified nurses were desperately waiting to be employed while there should be many vacancies in the government hospital.

“What a sad irony the situation is,” said one nurse. “Is there really nothing anyone can do about such a tragic state of affairs?”

She added that those in top management roles may not know the true situation on the ground.

Health minister: Government providing aid to thousands of migrants in Langkawi

Malay Mail Online

KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 ― The Health Ministry, Foreign Ministry and National Security Council will jointly hold discussions to address the entry of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar who landed in Langkawi last Sunday.

Health Minister Datuk Seri S.Subramaniam said at present the government had yet to make a decision on the status of these illegals but had given them appropriate humanitarian aid.

"Clinics and hospitals in Langkawi have also prepared for any eventualities concerning the health issues of these illegals," he told reporters before launching the "My Home" programme here today.

He said so far there were no health cases or infectious diseases involving these illegals being reported.

His ministry also had yet to plan any health screenings or check-up on all the foreign immigrants, he said.

IHH, Sime Darby Said to Make Bids for HMI Malaysia Hospital

Bloomberg Business

IHH Healthcare Bhd. and Sime Darby Bhd.’s medical venture made offers for a Malaysian hospital owned by Health Management International Ltd., people with knowledge of the matter said.
The two companies submitted first-round bids for the Mahkota Medical Centre in the state of Malacca, the people said, asking not to be named as the process is private. Health Management, which is listed in Singapore, is working with Credit Suisse Group AG to sell the hospital for about $250 million, people with knowledge of the matter said last month.The bidders aim to boost growth by buying a hospital that provides specialist services including chemotherapy day care and in-vitro fertilization, drawing more than 287,000 patients last financial year. Aging populations and a burgeoning middle class are boosting health-care spending in Asia Pacific, which is projected to increase 10.5 percent annually to reach $2.2 trillion by 2018, according to Frost & Sullivan.Health Management shares jumped 20 percent, the most since September 2013, to close at a record 39 Singapore cents.Revenue at the 266-bed Mahkota, which opened in 1994, rose 11 percent to 212 million ringgit ($59 million) in the year through June 2014, according to Health Management’s annual report. The hospital, located about 120 kilometers (75 miles) southeast of Malaysia’s capital, has offices in Indonesia, Cambodia and Singapore to attract patients from overseas, its website shows.Sime Darby, the world’s largest listed palm oil producer by market value, bid through its 50-50 medical joint venture with Australia’s Ramsay Health Care Ltd., the people said. The business operates three medical centers each in Malaysia and Indonesia, according to its website.

Teen pregnancies, child marriage behind high maternal deaths in Malaysia, say activists

Malay Mail Online

KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 — The higher risk of women dying during pregnancy or in childbirth in Malaysia compared to Singapore is because of teen pregnancies and child marriage, activists said today.

Social activist Azrul Mohd Khalib said the government’s push for pro-abstinence sex education has resulted in the rise of teen pregnancies and child marriages, which affects the girls’ maternal health.

“If you look at countries that have been pushing for pro-abstinence like Uganda and other African countries, you can see there is an increase in the mother’s mortality rate,” Azrul told Malay Mail Online today.

Azrul said teen mothers face a greater risk of dying during pregnancy or in childbirth, as they are too young to give birth, or they give birth to too many children in a short span of time without proper medical care.  

“If they are married at the age of 15 to 18 and immediately give birth in numbers, this can cause death as well,” he added.

The State of the World’s Mothers 2015 report by international children’s rights group Save the Children released on Monday showed that one in 1,600 women in Malaysia are at risk of maternal death, nine times higher than Singapore’s at one in 13,900.

The report also showed that a child born in Malaysia is three times more likely to die before turning five compared to Singapore, with the child mortality rate here at 8.5 per 1,000 births, while Singapore’s is 2.8 per 1,000 births.

Local daily The Star reported last December United Nations resident coordinator in Malaysia, Michelle Gyles-McDonnough, as expressing concern over child marriage, saying that based on the 2010 consensus, 80,000 married women in Malaysia were between 15 and 19 years of age, while there were 70,000 young married men.

According to the Health Ministry, 16,528 teen pregnancies were recorded last year based on the number of adolescents that registered at government clinics. On average, there are around 50 teen pregnancies a day, with three-quarters involving married teens.

The Health Ministry’s statistics showed an increase in teen pregnancies from 18,652 cases in 2011 to 18,847 cases in 2012, but a drop after to 16,528 cases last year.

However, Dr Raj Abdul Karim, Asia director of Women Deliver, a global group advocating girls’ and women’s health and rights, said the government statistics do not necessarily reflect the actual number of cases as they only rely on registered government sources like public clinics and government health organisations.

“If you look at it properly, there are a lot more unregistered places like certain private institutions that people actually turn to,” she told Malay Mail Online.   

Dr Raj said strict government policies on family planning that only allow contraceptives to be given to married couples have contributed to the country’s decline in maternal health and a rise in teen pregnancies.

“This service is not available to unmarried girls who are sexually active. Hence they either go to private clinics or are more likely to have unprotected or unsafe sex resulting in unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortions, STIs or HIV and AIDS.

“Thus resulting in a decline in maternal health or maternal mortality,” she added. 

Dr Raj also said religion should not prevent people especially married couples from family planning, like Islam only forbids the use of contraceptives for those unmarried. 

“We should emphasise that religion should not stop you from family planning or the use of contraceptives. 

“Even Islam allows the use of contraceptives but does not condone permanent methods like sterilisation. Also Islam allows family planning only for married individuals, not unmarried unless it is for medical or health reasons,” she added. 

Regional women’s NGO Asian-Pacific Resource & Research Centre for Women (Arrow) executive director Sivananthi Thanenthiran said maternal deaths in Malaysia have been increasing in proportion to the growing number of teen pregnancies.

“There is a lack of family planning efforts compared to the 1970s and 1980s, as well as a lack of access to services for women in Sabah and Sarawak, migrant women workers and even indigenous women,” Sivananthi added, when contacted.

Health Ministry: No reports of products containing DNP in Malaysian market

The Star Online

PETALING JAYA: There have been no reports of dietary products containing 2.4-dinitrophenol (DNP) in the Malaysian market, says the Health Ministry.

The Ministry’s pharmacy enforcement division deputy director Mazlan Ismail said, however, that the situation was being monitored closely, especially after Interpol’s global alert on Monday.

“Based on the monitoring and post marketing activities conducted by the department, we have yet to come across any pharmaceutical products containing DNP being marketed in Malaysia,” said Mazlan when contacted on Thursday.

He explained that DNP is an organic compound and is usually used in the manufacturing industry as an industrial chemical and might also be used as antiseptic.

He said that legally, any products containing DNP that are meant for consumption could not be sold in the country.

“This chemical is not suitable for human consumption and can be extremely dangerous to human health.

“Currently, no products containing dinitrophenol are registered with the Drug Control Authority of the Health Ministry.

“(So) legally there should not be any products containing dinitrophenol available in the market,” he said.

He added that dinitrophenol can only be brought into the country with a valid licence.

When contacted, Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society told The Star that pharmacists in Malaysia are careful and do not sell drugs containing DNP.

“Pharmacists are very careful as safe custodians of medicines,” she said.

Malaysian Medical Association president Datuk Dr Krishna Kumar added that although there have been no reports of deaths caused by DNP, the association’s pharmaceutical division was working to identify international websites selling products containing DNP.

“Our pharmaceutical division is working with the Interpol and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MSMS) to identify and take these websites down,” he said.

The Interpol alert was issued after a woman died in the UK and a French man was left seriously ill after taking products containing DNP.

The agency said that DNP was found to have been sold in the form of yellow powder or capsule form and as a cream marketed as dieting and body-building supplements.

MMA donates RM20,000 to Nepal's relief fund

theSundaily

theSun news editor Annie Freeda (3rd left) receiving the cheque from MMA president Dr H. Krishna Kumar (second from left). SUNPIX by SYED AZAHAR SYED OSMAN

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) donated RM20,000 to the Nepal Disaster relief fund under Mercy Malaysia.

MMA President Dr Krishna Kumar said that although the sum is small, he hopes that it will help the victims of the quake.

“We share the sorrow faced by the Nepalese people in this time of need and hope that this small contribution will help them,” he said at a cheque presentation ceremony at the Sun Media Corporation office here.

The MMA is also sending 15 volunteer doctors under their new Volunteer Organisation Corp (VOC).

“The VOC has provided assistance during the recent floods in the East Coast of Malaysia where several assistance missions were conducted. We have also assisted in an Orang Asli settlement in Perak where we are building houses and getting basic amenities to the villagers,” he said.

He added that since the volunteers' experiences at Kelantan, many of them now want to go and assist in Nepal.

“We want to donate to Mercy Malaysia because they are doing a wonderful job on the ground, at the same time, we will send our volunteers there to see how they can assist in any way possible,” said Krishna.

He said that Malaysia has been a relatively lucky country because it does not have disasters like Nepal and the MMA wants to lend a helping hand.

Study on factors affecting youth’s reproductive health underway – BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News | Largest English Daily In Borneo

BorneoPost Online

MIRI: The National Population and Family Development Board (LPPKN) is doing a research on Risk and Protective Factors Affecting Youth’s Sexual and Reproductive Health in Sarawak and Sabah.

In revealing this, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim said a similar research was conducted in Peninsular Malaysia in 2011.

“A research on Risk and Protective Factors Affecting Youth’s Sexual and Reproductive Health in Peninsular Malaysia conducted by LPPKN in 2011 found that family closeness is one of the factors contributing to youth’s sexual behaviour and reproductive health.

“We are now implementing similar research in Sarawak and Sabah this year,” she said when officiating at the 2015 Happy Family Roadshow at Bekenu community hall near here yesterday.

Rohani admitted that modern living posed tough challenges to the family institution, resulting in the so-called ‘commuter family’ and ‘sandwich family’.

In an effort to save marriages, she said her ministry through LPKKN in collaboration with registered non-governmental organisations (NGOs) started the SMARTSTART pre-marriage programme to provide knowledge, guidance, skills and tips for a happy marriage and family life.

She called on more NGOs in Sarawak to submit their applications to LPPKN Sarawak to enable them to conduct the SMARTSTART pre-marriage course.

Another programme called SMARTSTART 2nd Honeymoon, she added, had been extended to couples who had been married for more than five years.

She pointed out that the ministry and LPPKN had lined out five core values; namely love, attitude, health, safety and harmony, as the basic guideline in developing a happy family.

On the roadshow, she said the event in Bekenu was the fourth this year after Pusa (Sarawak), Menumbok (Sabah) and Tanjung Malim in Perak.

The theme for this year’s roadshow is ‘I Love My Family’.

Dengue cases top 40,000 in Malaysia

Outbreak News Today

Although the Malaysia Health Ministry has not updated the dengue fever death toll in two weeks (remains at 117), the country’s total case count has exceeded 40,000 as of May 2 after an additional 179 cases were reported on that day.

To date, Malaysia has seen 40,007 dengue fever cases with 23,376 cases reported from Selangor state alone.

Clinic finally taking shape in Kg Terian: Resort to rescue of 1,400 folks

Daily Express Newspaper

Kota Kinabalu: Some 1,400 people in remote Kg Terian near the Crocker Range Park need not have to walk for hours anymore to get medical treatment. Shangri-La's Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa's construction of a concrete two-storey clinic is running on schedule and due for completion in July. "When the construction of this clinic is completed, the villagers living around this area can finally get easy access to medical advice and health-care. They have had to endure hours of walking just to get basic health care in the past," said the resort's general manager, Andrew den Oudsten, who visited the site recently. He is happy with the progress of the construction. The construction of Kampung Terian's clinic is one of the resort's corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects, which it undertakes yearly to assist the local community. "We are working closely with Mercy Malaysia (also known as Medical Relief Society Malaysia) to build and equip this health clinic for the villagers," he said. The clinic comprises a consultation room downstairs and living quarters for the nurses and visiting doctors upstairs. The resort is also working closely with its business partners and friends to provide these villages with basic medical facilities. Once completed, the clinic will be handed over to the Ministry of Health. While he was there, den Oudsten and his team distributed bars of soap made in the hotel, under another CSR initiative "Soap For Hope".

Malaysia Named World’s Medical Travel Destination for 2015 – BusinessNewsAsia.com

BusinessNewsAsia.com

MALAYSIA – The International Medical Travel Journal (IMTJ) Medical Travel Awards 2015 has named Malaysia as “Medical Travel Destination of the Year”, further boosting the country’s medical tourism sector.

Malaysia won the award, which was handed at the Royal Garden Hotel in London, based on all-round excellence in promoting inbound medical tourism, verified statistics of yearly growth in medical tourists served, evidence of high levels of patient satisfaction and coordinated activities that delivered an increase in medical tourism.

Sherene Azura Azli, the CEO of Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) received the award in London. MHTC was established in 2009 under the Ministry of Health to develop and promote Malaysia’s healthcare travel industry.

A total of 13 awards in four categories (Healthcare Provider and Agency, Marketing, Quality and Service, and Overall Achievement) were handed out at the ceremony.

Malaysia’s private hospitals received several awards during the event, namely Excellence in Customer Service (Gleneagles Hospital, Kuala Lumpur), Best Quality Initiative of the Year (Imperial Dental Specialist Centre), Best Travel Website of the Year (Ramsay Sime Darby Healthcare), International Cosmetic Surgery Clinic of the Year (Beverly Wilshire Medical Centre), and International Dental Clinic of the Year (Imperial Dental Specialist Centre).

Besides that, two hospitals also came in as the most Highly Commended hospitals.

The Imperial Dental Specialist Centre and the Prince Court Medical Centre, also came in as the most Highly Commended hospitals for their travel website and customer service, respectively.

Organised by the IMTJ, which was established in 2007, the annual IMTJ Medical Travel Awards is a prestigious award that recognises innovation, excellence and best practices in the medical travel and medical tourism sector. It is judged by an independent panel of medical travel experts.

Malaysia, as one of Asia’s most recognized developing countries, has immense potential in an increasingly important sector – medical tourism.

Healthcare in Malaysia under the responsibility of the government’s Ministry of Health has an efficient and widespread system of health care, operating a two-tier health care system consisting of both a government-run universal healthcare system and a co-existing private healthcare system. – BusinessNewsAsia.com

DPM: Malaysia’s rapid devt in healthcare due to good governance and best practices

BorneoPost Online

ROMPIN: Malaysia’s good governance and best practices in providing infrastructure and facilities for healthcare has given the country a good standing internationally said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Hospitals built by the government and private sector have enabled healthcare providers in Malaysia to offer high end hospitals, especially private run hospitals, helping Malaysians to live longer.

“The live expectancy for women in the country has risen to 76 compared with men who rank three or four years lower. However, with good health practices and exercise many can live longer,” he said when officially opening the RM1.5 million Yayasan Kebajikan Negara (YKN) Dialysis centre in Rompin at Pantai Hiburan, here yesterday.

The opening ceremony was also attended by YKN Board of Directors chairman Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abd Jalil and Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob who is also the Pahang Barisan Nasional chairman.

Muhyiddin said a country whose people are healthy with a sound mind and physic can progress because the people would focus their mindset on development and how to develop the country. “If the health of the people is affected, we cannot think rationally, so how to develop the country,” he asked.

The Deputy Prime Minister said the government was willing to absorb huge costs to provide healthcare facilities and services to the people.

Muhyiddin said setting up the YKN Dialysis centre in Rompin was the best example to show that the government, through the welfare agencies involved, provide facilities for the people at their own area that probably lacked hospitals to provide such services.

“Dialysis centres set up by the ministry may not cater for the need of all the people and that is why many non governmental organisations are taking the initiative to set up such facilities,” he said.

Muhyiddin said he himself was involved in building a dialysis centre in Taman Titiwangsa through a welfare organisation and understood the difficulties faced by the people who needed such treatment, especially the poor.

“If they go to a private dialysis centre they may be charged RM200 to RM300 for every treatment and if they needed three treatments a week, it will certainly incur a high cost.

“Such a cost will be a big burden for average wage earners because such treatment is a long term treatment, not a one off thing. That is why we welcome this initiative,” he said. — Bernama

Ministry: More medical assistants soon

The Star Online

PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry wants to increase the number of medical assistants in the country because there is a nationwide shortage.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said medical assistants were especially crucial in rural areas where there were not enough doctors.

“Residents, especially in Sabah and Sarawak, are extremely dependent on them.

“Our problem is that we do not have enough space at our training centres to generate larger numbers,” he said after officiating the Nationwide Medical Assistant Day celebrations here yesterday.

Dr Subramaniam said there were now six government training institutes which catered to between 700 to 800 medical assistants.

“This is not enough as there are many medical assistant posts which have yet to be filled.

“We also hope to create more such posts but we need more training opportunities,” he said, adding that the current aim was to produce about 1,000 medical assistants a year.

He said that at present there were only 11,469 medical assistants in the country.

On a related matter, Dr Subramaniam said the ministry was looking at widening the scope for pre-hospital services.

“For example, in an accident, pre-hospital care is provided to the patient from the accident scene to the hospital and this period is crucial.

“We are looking at how we can create a specialised unit for pre-hospital care soon,” he said, adding that it was one of the plans under the 11th Malaysia Plan.

On the increase in tuberculosis (TB) cases in the country, Dr Subramaniam said the ministry was focusing on remedial action to stop the spread of the disease.

“Our aim is to detect TB patients as soon as possible and treat them before they infect others,” Dr Subramaniam said.

Dr Subramaniam said besides awareness programmes, the ministry would provide more equipment to medical centres to help identify TB cases.

He said that now there were about 20,000 TB cases nationwide.

Workshop on highly demanded traditional postnatal healthcare

BorneoPost Online

KUCHING: The National Population and Family Development Board (LPPKN) has been holding a series of traditional postnatal healthcare workshops for women in Malaysia due to high demand within and outside the country.

According to LPPKN, the workshop named ‘MamaCare’ serves to equip participants with knowledge and skills on postnatal healthcare.

A practitioner in the peninsula can earn RM6,000 to RM11,000 a month for such service.

“Besides providing the necessary care for mothers after they give birth, this service can improve the standard of living among women in Malaysia,” said state Welfare Department director Noriah Ahmad at the presentation of certificates to 20 participants of MamaCare workshop at Penview Hotel recently.

Representing Welfare, Woman and Family Development Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah at the event, Noriah said the workshop was part of the 1Malaysia Women Initiative and Self Empowerment (1MWISE) under the government’s 7th National Blue Ocean Strategy.

According to statistics from the National Registration Department, Malaysia recorded about 500,000 births in 2013, a reflection of the need for traditional postnatal care service.

The Health Ministry is promoting the integration of traditional and modern medicine for new mothers in line with World Health Organisation (WHO)’s launch of a similar strategy in 2002 to promote healthcare services.

“Within our community, traditional postnatal healthcare is seen as an effective method to avoid postnatal depression among new mothers. Malaysia records a very low 3.9 per cent incidence of postnatal depression among new mothers,” Noriah pointed out.

On the sideline, workshop participants were given tips on baby care, family planning, parenting and postnatal diets.

Proper postnatal healthcare would help women return to the workforce after their confinement. The government is projecting to have at least 55 per cent women in the nation’s workforce.

The workshop from Feb 14 to 17 targetting those from the low income household (LIH) and single mothers was run by LPPKN together with Persatuan Warisan Urutan Melayu Malaysia.

A similar workshop held in Batang Lupar last year saw 20 participants receiving MamaCare certificates.

State LPPKN director Rohaini Ahmad and Persatuan Warisan Urutan Melayu Malaysia president Syed Mahdi Barakbah also attended the presentation of certificates.

Blocking illegal medicine a headache for Malaysia's health ministry, Others news, Health News, AsiaOne YourHealth

AsiaOne YourHealth 

 KUALA LUMPUR - The booming online pharmaceutical industry, and the ease of having these items delivered to the buyer's doorstep, is posing a major challenge to the Health Ministry's efforts to block illegal medicine.
These online transactions were "almost invisible" and their origins difficult to trace, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.
He added that the Customs Depart­ment's policy of not screening packages valued below RM500 made it even easier for unregistered and illegal medication to enter the country through online purchases.

"The shipments brought in by companies in bulk are screened, but the problem is with individual purchases sent by post.
"If the value is less than RM500, the Customs Department's policy is not to screen the package as the volume of these packages is too high. But for us, this makes a big difference," he said yesterday.
Dr Subramaniam said the ministry raised this concern to the Customs Department over a year ago.
"People are also able to buy online the medication which they would otherwise need a prescription for.
"This not only puts patients at risk. It is also against the law.
"We have asked the Customs Department to screen all packages and they are trying to do it but I think it is quite expensive to put such a system in place.
"I hope they will be able to do it as soon as possible," he said after opening the training conference on access to safe medicines here.
Earlier in his speech, Dr Subra­maniam said the ministry had introduced various efforts to protect Malaysians from counterfeit and unregistered medicine, such as introducing the Meditag security hologram on registered medication and enforcement activities.
Last year, he said 33,704 unregis­tered products worth RM43.22mil were seized by the ministry.

Women's healthcare in Malaysia is the weaker rights

The Star Online

Women may be the fairer sex, but not the weaker one. Still, there are plenty of issues to address over women's healthcare in Malaysia.

A woman plays many roles in a family – daughter, sister, wife, mother – throughout her life. When she becomes a mother, she inevitably takes the reins as the guardian of health and carer to the family. But who is there to safeguard her interests?

Women are often depicted as the weaker sex. I beg to differ.

In terms of health, women have a lower mortality rate compared to men at any age group. It’s safe to say women are the stronger sex from womb to tomb. Women have conquered more than 60% of varsity places in Malaysian universities, and are a vital workforce for the nation. 

Because of their varied roles, women will prioritise others in a family before themselves. But women should also be provided with better access to health and care for themselves.

Let's start with contraception – not all women have access to it. A woman's right to contraception is determined by national policies on their age, marital status, and other factors that may not be relevant to the woman herself.

Women should be allowed to decide – if they want to – what form of contraception they want and when to use it after being counselled on the various options available. Healthcare professionals should not use their own values in deciding for women when they should start their family and how to space them. 

In this aspect, Malaysia is failing miserably as less than 50% of eligible women of childbearing age have access to contraceptives.

Women should also receive the necessary information for them to make their decisions. Health education, including sex education and inculcating awareness of their sexuality and the consequences of their actions, needs to be imparted early for women to make choices compatible with their own plans for their lives. 

Women should be educated about the necessary preparations for getting pregnant, pregnancy itself, and the care of their babies before they embarked on this journey. 

In addition, an underaged girl should not be forced into marriage and starting a family. Even though she is physically capable of performing the functions, she may not be mentally and physically ready for the responsibilities that come with this. There are many stresses and pressures that need to be balanced in life.

Female foreigners have the shorter end of the stick when it comes to healthcare in Malaysia. They are not provided for adequately, even with mandatory medical coverage (Skim Perlindungan Insurans Kesihatan Pekerja Asing), when they come into the country legally to work. It's even worse when they are illegal.

In addition, healthcare staff at clinics and hospitals are required to report such “illegals” when they seek care, when they are at their most vulnerable state. This has become an ethical issue for healthcare personnel.

We understand that the government cannot give free healthcare to non-Malaysians. This has been clearly demonstrated in the recent increase of medical fees for foreigners in the government sector. We also know that this will seriously impact the health of the foreigners, especially women who become pregnant.

We hope that healthcare is treated differently from other forms of assets and services. We need to ensure that the right to health is not denied to any group, including those that do not have their full rights. The government, as the ruling body of the country, has this responsibility and needs to address these issues seriously.

■ Dr H. Krishna Kumar is president of the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA). For further information, email starhealth@thestar.com.my. The information provided is for educational and communication purposes only and it should not be construed as personal medical advice. Information published in this article is not intended to replace, supplant or augment a consultation with a health professional regarding the reader’s own medical care.