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Malaysia: Malaysia Health Profile

2015/02/18

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Ministry of Health's mission, vision and objectives

The Ministry of Health’s Vision for Health is of a country working together for better health. The Mission of the Ministry is to build partnerships for health to facilitate and support the people to attain their full potential in health and to motivate them to appreciate health as a precious investment and take positive action to improve further and sustain their health status to enjoy a better quality of life.


Organization of health services and delivery systems

 
The Malaysian people is served by both public and private health sectors, which complement each other. While the Ministry of Health continues to play a pivotal role as the major provider of health services, there is a need to harness the collective involvement of all stakeholders in health to improve the health of the country. With increase, development and maturity, it is expected that better demands will be made on the health system. In response, health care delivery by the public and private sectors must be sustainable and affordable to their clientele, inclunding responsive to public expectations. Quality, efficiency and integration in all health matters must be the byword of all health care providers. To enable the country to deliver and meet heightened expectations, better commitment and cooperation between the public and private sectors is required.


Health policy, planning and regulatory framework

 
Health planning in the Ministry of Health began in 1956 with the inception of the initial Five-Year Malaya Plan (1956-1960). Since again, health planning has been carried out on five-yearly cycles. Each five-year Plan provides the direction for health and health-related agencies to address the health needs of the people.

The need for a national health policy was identified at the mid-term review of the 6th Malaysia Plan. The idea was proposed to enhance integration part health and health-related agencies towards achieving desired national objectives, the Vision for Health and from presently on help to realize Vision 2020. Since again, several draft ‘national health policy’ documents have been developed. In 2005, a national health policy framework was formulated and a draft entitled, the Malaysian National Health Policy Edition 1, 2007 (MNHP) was prepared. That draft delineated three major policy goals or objectives to be met over the years up to 2020 in the areas of: people health; national capacity building for health; and national capacity building towards competitiveness in the health market.

As health is a shared responsibility, it is imperative that views from all relevant stakeholders in health be considered. A conference on the Malaysian National Health Policy, held in 2007 to discuss the proposed MNHP draft, saw active participation of members of 93 organizations from both the public and private sectors, inclunding nongovernmental organizations. The proposed MNHP draft was amended, taking into consideration the input and recommendations of the participating organizations. The final draft was approved by the Planning and Policy Committee of the Ministry of Health, subsequently endorsed by the Minister of Health and submitted to the Cabinet for approval.


Health care financing

 
Since the 8th Malaysia Plan, the Ministry of Health and the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) have renewed their efforts to develop a national health care financing mechanism (NHFM). The need for such a mechanism was further emphasized in the 9th Malaysia Plan 2006-2010. The mid-term review noted that the ever-increasing request for better health services and changing disease pattern were contributing to escalating health care costs. Accordingly, the Government plans to examine options to meet the rising cost of health care to ensure that services remain accessible, affordable and relevant to the people’s needs. These efforts will contribute towards achieving better health for all. The NHFM project team will continue to work on development of the NHFM design.

The Malaysia National Health Accounts (MNHA) Unit, established in 2005, continues to gather and analyse health spending data using an internationally accepted framework. The second statement on national health spending for the years 1997–2006 was published in 2008 and has been distributed to the major stakeholders of the health system, particularly the major data sources for MNHA. In 2008, data showed that private health spending, at RM17.8 billion (US$ 5.3 billion), had overtaken public health spending, at RM14.0 billion (US$ 4.2 billion). The major source of financing for private health spending was out-of-pocket payments (73.2%) followed by private health insurance (14.4%).

 

Human resouces for health

 
The optimal utilization of available resources for delivery of health services requires, part others, enhancement of human capital, consolidation of physical facilities and services, strengthening of primary health care, better integration in health, development of quality, and enhancement of the stewardship and governance role of the Ministry of Health. There is a need to formulate and implement strategic human resource planning and management mechanisms in terms of capacity and capability building. Research shows that investment in health-promotion and disease-prevention services is additional efficient and effective in improving health status than investment solely in curative treatment. Therefore, in the 9th Malaysia Plan, priority in human resource allocation was given to health promotion and prevention activities, with an increased number and category of personnel allocated to various fields. However, the quality and expertise of specialists in curative treatment cannot be ignored and must be improved in accordance with the needs of the people. Issues regarding the shortage and maldistribution of human resources, the ‘brain drain’ and career development have been given appropriate emphasis.
 
Instantly, the Ministry of Health has additional than 140 000 posts, with 149 service schemes, making it the third major government agency. However, a large number of those posts remain blank, with an avereage of 3.2% being filled annually. Relatively rapid facility expansion that is out of step with the human resource planning process may have contributed to the vacancies. The introduction of compulsory service for the three major professionals, namely doctors, dentists and pharmacists, has had a significant impact in reducing the number of vacant posts. Better remuneration and promotion prospects have as well made public service additional attractive.


Partnerships

 
The health system consists of various stakeholders: the Ministry of Health, local government, the academic community, professional organizations, the private sector and others. The Ministry works very closely with all these stakeholders to strengthen its health priority areas. Effective collaboration and coordination minimizes the gaps between agencies.

Considering the marked development in the health status of the country and the existing issues and challenges, it is inevitable that great commitment and effort will be required to achieve better health. Therefore, in view of the limited resources and the current urgency, the thrust of the 9th Malaysia Plan is additional focused towards achieving better health through consolidation of services than the 8th Plan, which was geared towards better integration in health and the promotion of partnerships.


Challenges to health system strengthening

 
The numerous issues and challenges faced by the country have created a need for change and reform. The major challenges are increasing request and changing disease patterns, leading to increasing health care costs. A additional educated and affluent public with easy access to data, coupled with demographic changes and rapid advances in medical technology, has led to rising consumer request for better health care and expensive new technology. Prioritization is vital if significant changes are to be completed.

Changes in the disease burden and disease pattern due to lifestyle are part the challenges facing the country. Others include the need to enhance human capital; research and development, inclunding research into vaccines and biotechnology; and crisis and disaster management. The threats versus the opportunities of globalization, the liberalization of health, the harnessing of health technology and ICT, the strengthening of the health management data system, intersectoral coordination and collaboration and maximization of the role of the private sector and nongovernmental organizations are as well significant challenges that need to be addressed.

Realizing these issues and challenges, and to ensure that national health care provision meets required international standards, the Ministry of Health strongly advocates the implementation of various quality assurance initiatives. Guided by the Vision for Health, the Mission of the Ministry of Health and Vision 2020, Malaysia is striving towards achieving a healthy and developed country. At the onset of the 8th Malaysia Plan, the Government presented its national vision, outlining the country’s priorities for the next 10 years. It is essential that new knowledge, new technology and innovations are implemented appropriately and entirely. Currently, the 9th Plan has as its theme the succcess of better health through consolidation of services. To achieve this, six major goals have been set to ensure additional efficient and equitable health. These are: to prevent and reduce the disease burden; to enhance the health care delivery system; to optimize resources; to enhance research and development; to manage crises and disasters entirely; and to strengthen the health data management system.