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The Health | february, 2019
Current News
Briefs
NKF MALAYSIA
wins Brand laureate
CSR Award
National Kidney Foundation (NKF)
Malaysia has recently been recognised
for its efforts towards kidney health
management and education when
it was awarded the prestigious
Brandlaureate CSR Brandleadership
Award 2018 by the Asia Pacific
Brands Foundation in a gala ceremony
held recently at The Majestic, Kuala
Lumpur.
The inaugural award, conceptualised
by the Asia Pacific Brands Foundation,
recognises corporations, NGOs,
societies, institutions and individuals
that have gone out of their way to give
back to the community. Receiving the
award on behalf of NKF Malaysia was
Dato Dr Zaki Morad Mohamad Zaher,
Chairman of Board of Directors of NKF.
“We are truly grateful to be
recognised by this award, which
certainly bears testament to the tireless
efforts championed by the often unsung
heroes at NKF towards our combined
efforts to fight kidney-related disease
while increasing public awareness about
kidney health. In Malaysia, unfortunately,
our lifestyles have led to an increase
by thousands of new patients every
year who are diagnosed with kidney
failure every year. This clearly indicates
that there is an urgent need to increase
public awareness on personal health,
especially on diseases related to end
stage renal disease,” said Dato Dr Zaki.
Peduli Sihat Health
Screening in
Collaboration with
DoctorOnCall
A community health screening
event was held in Pandamaran on
16th December 2018 as part of the
Peduli Sihat scheme by the Selangor
government and in collaboration with
DoctorOnCall.com.my, Malaysia’s
first telehealth service provider. The
programme was aimed to promote
awareness amongst the community
about the importance of keeping their
health in check.
During the event, attendees were
offered free screening of blood sugar
level, blood pressure, BMI and heart-
related problems. Attendees also had
the option to consult with the on-site
doctors or online via DoctorOnCall’s
platform. Pandamaran State
Assemblyman, YB Tuan Tony Leong
Tuck Chee also participated in the
event, as he was very keen in promoting
health awareness and benefits of
Peduli Sihat programme among his
constituents.
DoctorOnCall is an online clinic
offering services such as online
consultations with board-certified
doctors via chat, phone call or
video call. With this collaboration,
geographical distance from a health
facility will no longer be a challenge, as
medical care is only a call away. This
is in line with the motive to provide the
best medical access from Selangor
government through the Peduli Sihat
scheme initiative headed by The
Selangor Health, Welfare, Women and
Family Affairs Committee Chairman,
Y.B. Dr. Siti Mariah Binti Mahmud.
— The Health
Restart life
without smoke
NCSM and partners kick-start anti-smoking
social media campaign called #RestartNow
Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin (4th from left),
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad and Deputy Health Minister
YB Dr Lee Boon Chye are all smiles at the launch of #RestartNow.
I
n light of Malaysia’s recent
nationwide smoking ban, The
National Cancer Society of
Malaysia alongside partners; The
Malaysian Council for Tobacco
Control (MCTC), Public Health
Malaysia (PHM), Medical Mythbusters
Malaysia (M3), MedTweetMY, Malay-
sian Integrated Medical Professionals
Association (MIMPA), Pertubuhan
Ikram Malaysia (IKRAM), Malaysian
Green Lung Association, and the Malay-
sian Medical Association Public Health
Society (MMA PHS) have launched a
social media campaign #RestartNow
to support the government’s initiative
on smoke-free eating establishments.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr
New fact book on
pharmaceutical industry
The second
edition of
PhAMA
Industry Fact
Book focuses
on the future.
T
he Pharmaceutical Association
of Malaysia (PhAMA) launched
the 2018 edition of PhAMA
Industry Fact Book, the newest edi-
tion since the first edition’s launch
in 2012. The new edition of this fact
book has been themed ‘Advancing the
Health of a Forward Moving Nation’.
Recent discoveries, breakthroughs
and succesful partnerships achieved in
regards to healthcare policy stakehold-
ers in Malaysia.
The President of Pharmaceutical
Association of Malaysia, Chin Keat
Chyuan, delivered a speech, stating
that, “The growth of the industry is
reliant on the efforts of all stakeholders
and has positive ripple effect on the rest
of the economy. Through the second
edition of PhAMA Industry Fact Book,
we are highlighting Malaysia’s thriving
pharmaceutical industry which is now
being represented by over 445 phar-
maceutical companies including some
of the world’s largest companies - all
of which have jointly contributed to a
total estimated market value of RM7.5
billion, as of third quarter of 2018.”
The key highlights on new findings,
trends, statistics and achievements
incorporated in the Industry Fact
Book include; Communicable diseases,
the ageing population, drug registra-
tion and commercial availability,
shared services unit (SSU), continu-
ous medical education (CME), and
corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Additionally, the Industry Fact
Book also considers future trends and
challenges in the healthcare industry.
The merging of big data and artificial
intelligence (AI) technology as well as
its numerous capabilities could bring
further important developments to
the pharmaceutical industry.
According to YB Datuk Seri Dr Haji
Dzulkefly bin Ahmad, Minister of
Health Malaysia, “The Government
has increased the budget allocation for
the Ministry of Health (MoH) by 7.8
percent, or RM29 billion, as compared
to RM27 billion the previous year.” A
higher budget allocation for MoH
could prove promising in terms of
increasing utilisation of research and
development (R&D) and improving
the people health outcomes. — The
Health
Dzulkefly Ahmad said it is still too early
to judge the success of the campaign,
but claimed that it has gotten over-
whelming support.
“It’s not only with the non-smokers.
I have also gotten smokers telling me
they are supporting this campaign.
This is an indicator that we are ready
to move towards becoming a devel-
oped nation, with a civilised, cultured
society,” he said at the launching of
the Restart Programme (Restaurant
Without Cigarette Smoke And Tobacco)
on January 3rd.
Also present at the launch was the
Minister of Housing and Local Govern-
ment, YB Puan Hajah Zuraida Binti
Kamaruddin.
To participate in the campaign, par-
ticipants will need to take photographs
or videos of restaurants that have
the ‘NO SMOKING’ sign displayed,
no presence of any ashtrays, and no
people smoking at the restaurant.
These photos/videos will be then
publicly posted on social media along
with a short caption and location of the
restaurant. Participants will also need
to hashtag #RestartNow on the post.
In addition, participants will also need
to tag the #RestartNow campaign page
and five of their friends.
Each winning entry will receive
a RM100 cash prize with the photo
published in the social media channel
of participating partners. The social
media campaign which will run for a
year is aimed at reinforcing the benefits
of a smoke-free eating establishment
and provide encouragement to Malay-
sian smoking establishments that has
gone smoke free. — The Health
Bento box
comes alive
with MILO
A ‘bento’ or ‘bento box’ is a Japanese
lunchbox. What separates it from a
more typical lunchbox is the attention
to detail and the nutrition present in
the ingredients.
MILO’s recent workshop ‘Pack in
the Energy for Champions: Bento Box
Workshop’ taught parents tips on pack-
ing balanced meals full of energy for
their school-going children. The work-
shop was held as part of a three-day
on-ground activation for MILO UHT
at 1Utama, Bandar Utama to usher in
the new school year.
“Making a conscious effort to pack
balanced, nutritious meals into a
recess box for your children before they
leave home helps them acquire better
consumption choices out of home and
reinforces healthy eating habits,” says
Angeline Lim, Consumer Marketing
Manager of MILO.
The workshop featured Georgen
Thye, dietitian and founder of Georgen
Cooking who highlighted the dietary
needs of a growing child and pointers
for preparing a balanced, nutritious
bento box. He was joined by Lee
Samantha, food artist renowned for
her whimsical, colourful and unique
creations in a demonstration on simple
and quick recipes for healthy meals to
pack for school. Using everyday tools
and fresh, healthy ingredients and a
dose of imagination, Lee shared useful
tips on making simple decorations from
food cut-outs to spruce up the bento
box that will make kids look forward to
their recess meals.— The Health