Inter-lInkages between PoPulatIon DynamIcs anD DeveloPment In ...

HealthRecognising that good population health is a critical input for economic growth and development of humancapital, the Ninth Plan has included the following strategies for health sector development:• Preventing and reducing the disease burden to further improve the health status;• Enhancing the health care service delivery system to increase accessibility to quality care;• Optimising resources through consolidation and integration;• Enhancing research and development to support evidence-based decision-making;• Managing health related crisis and disasters effectively;• Enhancing human resource development; and• Strengthening health information and management systems.For Malaysia, maternal mortality, infant mortality, underweight among children below age five, and malariaare not major health issues – it has already achieved the related MDGs - compared to non-communicablediseases such as heart diseases and diseases of pulmonary circulation. Despite that, efforts are on-going toreduce the MMR and IMR, especially through strategy Number 2: Enhancing the health care service deliverysystem to increase accessibility to quality care. Programmes to increase accessibility include:• Provide mobile clinics in densely populated urban areas where suitable land is unavailable for constructionof health facilities;• Provide more mobile clinics equipped with necessary diagnostic equipments to remote and underservedareas; and• Build new and replacement hospitals, particularly a hospital for women and children.FP is not explicitly addressed in the Ninth Plan despite the CPR for women aged 15-49 years being only29.8% in 2006. In the Malaysian context, FP services and IEC on FP have all along been faithfully providedthrough a network of service outlets run by the MOH, National Population and Family Development Board(NPFDB), Federation of Reproductive Health Associations, Malaysia (FRHAM) formerly known as Federationof Family Planning Associations, Malaysia (FFPAM), and the private sector.Acute shortage of medical and health personnel will be dealt with by:• Strengthening the training of medical, dental and pharmacy undergraduates and post-graduates to meetthe demands of the health sector;• Utilising selected public hospitals as teaching hospitals;• Sending students overseas to complement training undertaken at local institutions;• Strengthen continuous professional development programmes;• Attract and retain personnel through improvements in terms and conditions of service; and• Additional and improve accommodation facilities in major towns where the rentals are high, and in ruraland remote areas.Water Supply and SanitationWater supply coverage is expected to increase from 95.0% of the population in 2000 to 96.8% in 2010. Forthat same period, urban areas coverage will remain unchanged, that is 98.0% of the population, whereas, forthe rural areas, there will be an increase from 92.0% to 95.2%. The Ninth Plan will make efforts to conservethe quantity, improve the quality of existing water resources and identify potential water resources to bedeveloped to ensure sustainable and efficiency of water supply, especially to the rural areas. There will alsobe efforts in increasing accessibility to potable water in rural and isolated areas such as villages of Orang Asliand other indigenous groups.In 2005, about 8.1 million population was served by the sewerage facilities, and this figure is expected toincrease. In the Ninth Plan, awareness campaigns will be intensified and sewerage services will be expandedto ensure the quality of effluent discharge complies with environmental standards and safeguard publichealth.20