All in this together: Dzulkefly (centre) participating in the Walk 10,000 Steps event during the Madani Afiat and Healthy Malaysia National Agenda Tour at Padang Bandaran Tawau. — Bernama
TAWAU: Fifteen out of 58 dilapidated health clinics in Sabah have been completely upgraded so far, says Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
The government, through the Health Ministry, has allocated RM21.5mil to upgrade the 58 clinics, which were part of 70 wooden clinic buildings in the state, he added.
“Upgrading work is currently being conducted for the remaining 43 clinics. We hope to complete them by November 2024.
“We are also monitoring the 58 of 70 wooden health clinics. We will tackle them all and carry on in 2025. All the upgrades will cost RM31.6mil,” he told reporters after officiating the Madani Afiat and the state-level Healthy Malaysia National Agenda Tour programme here yesterday.
He said that the programme was held to promote healthy lifestyles as a measure to prevent disease and to boost health literacy, including early health screenings, Bernama reported.
“Based on data, health screenings under the national health screening initiatives in Sabah have risen from 1,017,095 (2022) to 1,538,727 (2023), showing a rising level of awareness in the state,” Dzulkefly said, adding that efforts to boost the health level require a nationwide approach.He also shared that the Tawau and Sandakan Hospitals will be uplifted to state hospitals with major specialist levels – a move that will bridge the wide gap in terms of facilities and expertise.
Dzulkefly added that the new Tawau Hospital project will be handed over to the Health Ministry next month.
In his speech, the minister said that last year’s national health and morbidity survey revealed that many Malaysians are suffering from non-commutable diseases.
“One in three Malaysians have high cholesterol (33.3%), high blood pressure (29.2%) and one out of six have diabetes (15.6%).
“Most are due to two factors: improper and unbalanced eating, and unhealthy lifestyles. Overall, one in seven Malaysians have kidney problems due to the lack of early detection and intervention,” he said, adding that 9,000 new patients annually resort to dialysis to continue living.
