THE HEALTH | SEPTEMBER , 2022

PROTECTHEALTH Corporation Sdn . Bhd . ( ProtectHealth ) together with the Ministry of Health ( MoH ) set a new Malaysian record title ‘ Most Vaccination Doses Administered In A Day ’ and was recognised by the Malaysia Book of Records , through the National Covid-19 Immunisation Program ( PICK ) which has been implemented since February 2021 .

This award resulted from the strategic Public-Private Partnerships ( PPP ) throughout PICK . This challenging yet rewarding programme was launched in an effort to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus in Malaysia .

To ensure that vaccinations are administered quickly to everyone , especially with the presence of new variants that are high-risk at that time , the Government has mobilised the entire machinery and cooperated with the private sector by forming the largest PPP in the healthcare industry led by ProtectHealth , in line with the “ whole-of-nation ” and “ whole-ofsociety ” approach .

The outbreak of Covid-19 had forced our health industry to reform and improve . This strategic PPP was formed to ensure accessibility to healthcare and comprehensive vaccination programme to all nations that no one is left behind .

MoH and ProtectHealth have worked together in leading PICK with more than 72 million vaccine doses administered to Keluarga Malaysia .

THE MALAYSIAN Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association ( MARGMA ) projects that the export value of rubber gloves from Malaysia will drop by 58 per cent to RM23.10 billion this year from RM54.81 billion last year and RM35.26 billion in 2020 .

Not surprisingly , the prices of listed glove stocks on Bursa Malaysia have fallen to their lowest levels this year .

However , MARGMA foresees that the exports of rubber gloves from Malaysia will grow 10 per cent annually from 2023 onwards .

“ Glove manufacturing will still be a profitable business , bearing in mind , in normal conditions , its ( annual global demand ) growth is about 15 per cent ,” said its President , Dr Supramaniam Shanmugam .

Nonetheless , he expects the outlook of the Malaysian glove industry to be tough in the next six- to nine months , in terms of production capacity utilisation and glove average selling prices .

“ Supply pipeline has sufficient gloves . Upon ( supply-demand ) equilibrium , players will expand only to the tune of demand growth ,” he said at a recent press conference .

Malaysia , which is estimated to

On July 28 , 2021 the highest number of daily vaccinations were recorded with 581,566 doses administered , resulting in the recognition by the Malaysia Book of Records .

Meanwhile , ProtectHealth CEO Dato ’ Dr . Anas Alam Faizli hopes that this recognition from the Malaysia Book of Records will fuel the spirit for ProtectHealth to continue leading the PPP in the healthcare sector , as well as empower the country ’ s health system to become more resilient and robust in the future .

“ There are wisdoms in every test we endure . The Covid-19 outbreak has brought up opportunities for collaboration that we never expected .

“ With this meaningful award , I assure that ProtectHealth will continue to uphold the mandate entrusted by the MoH and continue

produce 240 billion pieces of gloves in 2022 , is expected to command a 65 per cent share of the global rubber glove market , followed by China ( 20 per cent ), Thailand ( 10 per cent ) and Indonesia ( three per cent ).

Supramaniam also said that MARGMA members have so far automated about 85 per cent of their glove production operations and it will take another three to four years to automate 95 per cent of their operations .

“ The last mile is very important , and we are investing continuously to achieve that . One of the examples we like to use is 10 years ago , we needed 9.7 workers to produce one million pieces of gloves . To produce the same number of gloves , we need 1.7 workers today ,” he said .

The global demand for rubber gloves is expected to return to growth in 2023 , after a 19 per cent contraction to an estimated 399 billion pieces this year from 492 billion in 2021 when the world was at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic .

MARGMA expects glove demand to expand in the range of 12-15 per cent next year . Meanwhile , as demand normalises , it has cut its forecast to be a leader in healthcare PPP and improve the country ’ s health system by more involvement with stakeholders participation ,” added Dato ’ Dr Anas .

He also highlighted that the Record-Breaking Covid-19 Vaccination : Public-Private Partnership Report , which was also launched has successfully recorded all the meaningful events and achievements throughout the PICK and it will serve as an important reference material in the future .

The ceremony - Majlis Penganugerahan Malaysia Book of Records dan Pelancaran Laporan Record Breaking Covid-19 Vaccination : Public-Private Partnership , held on Sept 13 , 2022 , was also attended by MoH Secretary-General Datuk Harjeet Singh .

for this year by 12 per cent to 399 billion pieces from 452 billion pieces previously .

He explained that MARGMA ’ s initial global glove demand forecast had considered the potential risk from the outbreak of the Omicron variant .

“ Now we find most of these risks have come under control . That ’ s why we need to reassess the numbers ,” said Supramaniam .

IN COMMEMORATION of Malaysia ’ s 65th Independence Day , Jacob ’ s Malaysia launched its # LangkahKebaikan65 campaign , which aims to collect 10 million steps and encourage Malaysians to adopt a healthier lifestyle and be more active .

The campaign from July 31 to Sept 30 , 2022 . This campaign continues from its previous Gerakan Kebaikan 64 campaign in 2021 and continues championing activity and physical movement .

The idea for this campaign was derived from statistics which showed that Malaysia has the highest prevalence of adult obesity in Southeast Asia . One of the contributing factors is the convenience that comes with digitalisation , where everything is available at our fingertips .

This has led to many Malaysians having sedentary lifestyles . Coupled with lack of physical exercise and unhealthy diets , will result in health problems such as diabetes , obesity , heart disease , and a host of other related issues .

“ Jacob ’ s aims to champion healthy eating and encourage people to make the good move . This campaign is a movement towards building a healthier nation which embraces overall wellbeing ,” said Arpan Sur , marketing director for Malaysia , Singapore , and the Asia Pacific , Middle East and Africa ( AMEA ), Mondelēz International .

“ We hope to achieve a goal of 10 million steps through this campaign , but more importantly , in the long run . We hope to effect a gradual but permanent lifestyle change in Malaysians to be more physically active and conscious about their wellbeing ,” he added .

To help expand the reach of this campaign , Jacob ’ s will also be channelling RM25,000 to a local non-profit organisation , the Nutrition Society of Malaysia ( NSM ) upon hitting the target of 10 million steps .

This funding will promote further education and awareness on proper nutrition and the benefits of an active lifestyle . Jacob ’ s # Langkah- Kebaikan65 campaign encourages people to rack up steps for a good cause ; get fit and get rewarded for it . – The Health