Intervention among children essential to combat NCDs: Zahid

PUTRAJAYA: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi wants intervention among children to be prioritised, especially in schools, to promote a healthy lifestyle and combat non-communicable diseases in the country.
He said NCDs such as diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and obesity had shown an increasing trend, leading to higher cost of treatment in the country.
In this regard, he said, intervention among children was important to promote an active lifestyle and healthy diet in the latter of part of their lives.
"The measure is necessary to change the attitude and culture from an early age to create healthy and productive Malaysians," he said in a statement here today after chairing a meeting of the Cabinet Committee for a Health Promoting Environment at the Perdana Putra Building here today.
Also present were Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam and Public Service Department director-general Tan Sri Zainal Rahim Seman.
Ahmad Zahid called on the relevant ministries, agencies and departments to give their full commitment to implement the healthy environment policy in the fight against the rising trend of NCDs in the country.
"The government can build more hospitals and improve the health facilities and personnel but without efforts to develop the policy of a healthy environment and active lifestyle, the fight against NCDs would not be effective," he said.
At the meeting today, Ahmad Zahid wanted focus to be given to the implementation of a healthy environment policy which had been agreed to by the Cabinet and efforts to curb NCDs.
"Thirteen policies on a healthy living environment were discussed for implementation in 2018-2019.
"The increasing cost of treatment in private hospitals and clinics caused the people to fall back on government facilities.
"Even though the Health Ministry is to receive a RM27-billion allocation under Budget 2018, the sum would not be sufficient to accommodate the burden of NCDs in the long term if preventive measures against these chronic diseases are not carried out," he said.
The Cabinet committee acts as a platform to discuss and identify follow-up action to combat NCDs which need the active involvement of various ministries, departments and agencies.
The committee, comprising 13 ministries, was established in 2011. — Bernama