Malaysia: Malaysia Health Profile
2015/02/18
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
Health policy, planning and regulatory framework
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
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
Partnerships
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
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.
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