27 JANUARY, KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) welcomed H.E. Mr. Mohammed Nasim, Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Bangladesh to Malaysia. A networking dinner was hosted for the Bangladesh delegation led by the Honourable Datuk Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah, Director General of Health, Malaysia.
Amongst others, the objective of the visit by the Bangladesh Ministry of Health & Family Welfare is to understand about the healthcare system in Malaysia and to have bilateral discussions on healthcare issues with the Ministry of Health Malaysia.
In his opening speech, Datuk Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah stressed that Malaysia is honoured to have a long-standing relationship with the various industry stakeholders between Bangladesh and Malaysia, including in healthcare. He said that Bangladesh is an important market and we are amazed with the response that we have received thus far from the medical tourists coming from Bangladesh to Malaysia seeking healthcare treatment.
Malaysia seeks to establish a stronger healthcare brand presence, as well as to build greater relationship with Bangladeshi consumers, industry stakeholders and the government. Currently, amongst the popular treatments sought after by the Bangladeshi medical tourists are in orthopaedics, cardiology, neurology, oncology, IVF and fertility, bariatric surgery, cosmetic surgery and dentistry. The increase in demand for these types of treatments in our region is due to the competitive pricing, high quality care and highly qualified and experienced medical professionals.
Malaysia Healthcare has moved from strength to strength in the last few years. The country was named “Medical Travel Destination of the Year” at the Medical Travel Awards 2015 by the International Medical Travel Journal, and “Best Country in the World for Healthcare” by International Living’s Annual Global Retirement Index in 2015 and 2016. Malaysia was also honoured as the “2015 Public Private Partnership Medical Travel Destination of the Year” at the 8th Annual World Medical Tourism and Global Healthcare Congress in Orlando, Florida (USA) recently.
According to Sherene Azli, Chief Executive Officer of the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council, “We strongly believe that Malaysia has the right qualities for achieving greater heights in international healthcare travel: excellent quality in healthcare services, accessibility and affordability. To top it off, it is easy for travellers to communicate with health professionals here, where English is widely spoken, and matched with strong government backing and commitment from the private healthcare sector, Malaysia has everything it takes to achieve our ambition of being top of mind in the world for healthcare travel. As Malaysia’s reputation grows as the preferred healthcare travel destination of choice, we will press on in our efforts to sustain Malaysia as a global force to be reckoned with,” said Sherene.
Apart from the quality healthcare, Malaysia also offers an abundant array of local and foreign cuisines with the availability of “halal” food for Muslim patients. The healthcare facilities in Malaysia serve “halal” food and prayer facilities are made available at the hospitals, hotels and even at shopping areas for the convenience of medical tourists visiting our country.
Support staff at the private hospitals speaking in Bengali language can also be arranged upon requests making it an easy decision not only for those seeking healthcare in Malaysia, but also for accompanying family members as well. Malaysia was also awarded as the Top Country for Muslim Travel in 2015 by MasterCard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index.
Commenting, Ms. Farzana Chowdhury, Managing Director and CEO of Green Delta Insurance Company Limited, Bangladesh said, "As the official representative office of MHTC in Bangladesh, GDAssist works closely with various stakeholders to raise awareness on Malaysia healthcare and facilitate seamless end-to-end experience for Bangladesh patients who are travelling to Malaysia. They are namely the High Commissions of Malaysia and Bangladesh, local and international airlines, air ambulance service, Clubs, Telecommunications and local healthcare sector and various media. I am confident that Malaysia will become top of mind for medical tourism.”
