PRESS STATEMENT

BY THE HONOURABLE  MINISTER OF HEALTH MALAYSIA

AT  THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION REGIONAL MEETING ON

NATIONAL MULTI-SECTORAL PLANS FOR NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES PREVENTION AND CONTROL

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

11^TH  TO 14^TH  JUNE 2012

The prevention and control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) has become a global priority, with all Member States, including Malaysia, being committed to the Political Declaration of the High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases, which was made at the United Nations in New York in September 2011.  Paragraph 45 of this Political Declaration commits to "promote, establish or support and strengthen, by 2013, as appropriate, multi-sectoral national policies and plans for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases". 

Because many of the risk factors of NCD are outside the purview of the health ministry, multi-sectoral actions through national policies and plans are essential for their prevention and control. Governments have a primary role in combating NCDs through engaging all sectors of society to generate effective responses. Multi-sectoral policies, plans and programmes are a reflection of the "whole-of-government" approach for integrated NCD prevention and control. Malaysia has already mounted a concerted effort  in strengthening the NCD prevention and control programme through the publication of the National Strategic Plan for Non-Communicable Diseases (NSP-NCD) 2010-2014, in December 2010. It was endorsed by the Malaysian Cabinet on 17^th  December 2010.

This WHO Regional Meeting On National Multi-sectoral Plans For Non-Communicable Diseases Prevention And Control, held in Le Meridien Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from the 11^th to the 14^th of June 2012, is co-organised by the Government of Malaysia and the WHO Western Pacific Region Office (WPRO) in Manila, Philippines. The main objectives of this meeting are:

(1)          To review the progress of national policies and plans for NCD prevention and control in the Region and to identify gaps in the development of multi-sectoral national NCD plans;

(2)          To discuss best practices in the Region, including the developmental and operational aspects of the National Strategic Plan for Non-communicable Disease in Malaysia as a case study of best practice in the region; and

(3)          To identify the roles and responsibilities of multi-sectoral partners, explore feasible options for co-ordination in country-specific contexts and to develop concrete “next steps”.

37 participants from 13 Western Pacific Region Member States including Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong (China), Japan, the People’s Democratic Republic of Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Vietnam will attend this meeting. Participants are high-ranking government officials and experts from ministries of health, finance, education, agriculture, planning, transport etc. The Regional Director for the WHO Western Pacific Region, His Excellency Dr. Shin Young-soo, graced the opening ceremony.  A total of 23 observers from ministries of health, academia and other organisations also attended. Speakers and facilitators are renowned experts in public health and NCD from New Zealand, Australia, WHO Geneva and WHO WPRO Manila. Malaysia was also invited to present a plenary paper on its experiences and challenges in the development of the NSP-NCD.

Malaysia acknowledges that there is much to be done in the prevention and control of NCDs. The main challenge is to operationalise the seven strategies contained in the NSP-NCD and to obtain the support of other ministries, government departments, the private sector, NGOs and civil society. The sharing of experiences is crucial and Malaysia welcomes and supports the WHO’s continuing efforts in providing opportunities for learning from the experiences from other countries. Thus, Malaysia hopes to significantly contribute to the prevention and control of NCD regionally as well as globally.

DATO’ SRI LIOW TIONG LAI

Minister of Health, Malaysia

11^th  June 2012