TAWAU: Fifteen out of 58 dilapidated health clinics in Sabah have been completely upgraded so far, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said.
The government, through the Health Ministry (MOH), has allocated RM21.5 million to upgrade the 58 clinics, which were part of 70 wooden clinic buildings in the state, he added.
“Upgrade 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, and all the upgrades will cost RM31.6 million,” he told reporters after officiating the MADANI Afiat and the state-level Healthy Malaysia National Agenda Tour programme here today.
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.
“Based on data, health screenings under the national health screening initiatives di Sabah have risen from 1,017,095 (2022) to 1,538,727 (2023), showing a rising level of awareness in the state,” Dr Dzulkefly said, adding that efforts to boost the health level required a nationwide approach.
He also shared that Tawau Hospital and Sandakan Hospital will be uplifted to state hospitals with major specialist level, a move that will bridge the wide gap in terms of facilities and expertise, adding that the new Tawau Hospital project will be handed to the MOH this August.
During his speech, Dr Dzulkefly said that last year’s national health and morbidity survey revealed that many Malaysians suffered non-commutable diseases (NCD).
“One of two Malaysians are overweight, one of three Malaysians have high cholesterol (33.3 per cent), high blood pressure (29.2 per cent), and one out of six have diabetes (15.6 per cent).
“Most are due to two factors, improper and unbalanced eating and unhealthy lifestyles, overall one in seven Malaysians have kidney problems due to lack of early detection and intervention,” he said, adding that 9,000 new patients annually resort to dialysis to continue living.
The government, he said, spends RM9.65 billion annually directly for NCD while the indirect cost reached RM12.9 billion.
“The impact on our economy is RM22.5 billion a year, or two per cent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Imagine how many roads, houses, and clean water supply can be channeled to Sabah if we don’t need to spend on preventable diseases,” he added.
