KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has been recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for its strong health system and universal health coverage (UHC) amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the recognition of Malaysia’s UHC as well as the country’s response and preparedness in handling the pandemic was highlighted in the WHO’s news feed today.
The news feed also featured a report submitted by a group of authors affiliated with the ministry’s Institute for Health System Research (IHSR).
“Malaysia’s health system has also been recognised for its strong foundations developed and strengthened from its past experience in handling infectious disease outbreaks.
“These strong foundations have helped in the country’s respond and preparedness toward breaking the transmission chain of Covid-19.
“The ministry appreciates the recognition from WHO and is committed to strengthening the nation’s health system for the wellbeing of the people and development of the country,” Dr Noor Hisham said in a statement today.
To date, he said the WHO has yet to endorse any Covid-19 vaccine, currently being developed by several countries including Russia and China, as safe and effective.
“The effectiveness and safety of the vaccine is an important factor that must be taken into consideration and cannot be taken lightly.
“Hence, the vaccines that are being developed must undergo several experiments and phases before it is used.”
On a related matter, Dr Noor Hisham said four imported cases were among six new cases reported to the ministry as of noon today, bringing the cumulative total cases to 9,391.
The imported cases, he said, involved two Malaysians returning from abroad and two non-citizens permitted into the country from Pakistan, Angola, India and Bangladesh.
“One of the two local transmission cases is related to the Telaga Cluster that was detected in Kedah.
“Case 9,391 (the new case from Telaga cluster) tested positive for Covid-19 screening on Sept 3 and is a close contact to the index case of the cluster.
“As of today, there are nine cases related to the cluster,” he said.
The ministry, he said, was still waiting for the test results for the 705 of the total 3,458 individuals screened in the cluster with the rest having tested negative for Covid-19.
Source: New Straits Times
