GOV’T STRENGTHENING GERIATRIC-READY FACILITIES AS MALAYSIA NEARS AGEING NATION STATUS

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 (Bernama) -- Development in the country, especially involving healthcare facilities, needs to be designed to be geriatric-ready or suited to the needs of the elderly as the country prepares to embrace the status of an ageing nation by 2030, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Deputy Health Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni said this need is being carried out through joint planning with the relevant ministries to ensure that recreational spaces, public amenities and facility designs are in line with the requirements of an increasingly ageing population.

“We cannot implement these policies and guidelines alone. That’s why we are planning with the relevant ministries to ensure that every development and plan provides suitable spaces for recreational activities.

“The same goes for other places, like shopping malls, where we encourage them to use the existing spaces to create areas that promote both shopping and healthy living,” he said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He was replying to a supplementary question from Dr Halimah Ali (PN-Kapar), who asked about the effectiveness of the health campaigns that cannot be conducted by the ministry alone, but must instead be driven through the ‘whole-of-nation’ concept involving cooperation between the public and private sectors.

In reply to the original question from Zahir Hassan (PH-Wangsa Maju), who wanted to know the strategy of dealing with an ageing nation by 2030, Lukanisman said the Ministry of Health (MOH) is strengthening the Senior Citizen Healthcare Service to assist the group achieve optimum health through comprehensive and integrated services. 

He said the Senior Citizen Healthcare Service Action Plan 2023-2030 has also been implemented to strengthen patient-centred care, including health promotion, screening, treatment, referrals, counselling, home visits, rehabilitation and elderly club activities at 1,103 health clinics, in addition to placing 42 geriatric specialists in 21 government hospitals.

At the same time, he said the Stanford University 2022 report showed that Malaysia is among the countries with low levels of daily physical activity.

As such, he said the MOH is implementing initiatives to cultivate healthy living under the Agenda Nasional Malaysia Sihat (ANMS), including the 10,000 steps a day campaign, the preparation of guidelines for an active lifestyle among civil servants, workplace sports culture and the formulation of the National Strategic Plan for Active Living 2026-2030.

In reply to a supplementary question from Zahir on the effectiveness of the non-communicable disease campaigns, such as diabetes, Lukanisman said various campaigns, like the ‘War On Sugar’, had been implemented to remind the public to reduce sugar intake.

He said that, in addition, part of the revenue from the sugar-sweetened beverage tax is channelled back to the MOH to purchase medicines related to diabetes treatment amounting to RM25 million.

“We hope to get the support from all parties, especially the elected representatives and also government agencies so that the ministry (MOH) does not work in silo in carrying out campaigns like the ‘War On Sugar’,” he said.

-- BERNAMA