Selangor To Form Public Health Advisory Council

Selangor also increased its budget allocation for public health to RM65 million for 2022, an increase of RM8.5 million from 2021.

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 29 — The Selangor state government will establish a new public health advisory council next year to be the state’s public health think tank.

The proposed Selangor Public Health Advisory Council (SelPHAC) aims to effectively deal with any disease outbreaks in the state in future.

Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari said that SelPHAC will serve as the state government’s think tank to propose public health policies and programmes that can complement efforts undertaken at the federal level.

Selangor’s 2022 budget has also increased the allocation for the public health sector as a whole to RM65 million, an increase of RM8.5 million compared to 2021. 

The third thrust of Selangor’s 2022 budget, “Strengthening Selangor’s Public Health Agenda” focused on comprehensive, affordable and effective public health management based on digitalisation technology to ensure the wellbeing of the people and economic viability of the state.

“The state government believes that a good level of health will contribute to an improvement in living standards, individual productivity and the local economy,” Amirudin said when tabling the state’s 2022 budget last Friday. 

As the Covid-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the state of Selangor, the public health management agenda has always been a priority of the state government, Amirudin added.

“Therefore, in 2022, the state government will continue the initiatives that have been implemented this year, to ensure that this aspect of life and livelihood becomes the core of state development.”

As a large fraction of people in Selangor are still unaware of the dangerous effects of tuberculosis (TB), the state government has allocated RM800,000 for the Tuberculosis Treatment Incentive Programme in 2022 to curb the spread of TB.

“An estimated 1,000 tuberculosis patients throughout the state who successfully complete treatment within the period set by their respective physicians will receive this benefit.”

At the same time, Amirudin noted that the state will explore new technologies to effectively control and prevent dengue outbreaks in Selangor.

The new technologies include epidemic locality monitoring methods using drones and developing hotspot locality tracking applications that can be accessed by the public.

“Although over the past two years, the management of Covid-19 has become a priority in Selangor, the state government has never forgotten the threat and danger of dengue fever.”

As of October 30, a total of 12,933 cumulative cases of dengue fever have been recorded this year throughout Selangor, including two deaths. 

“Although it shows a declining pattern compared to 2020, the state government will always ensure that efforts to curb the spread of dengue fever will continue in 2022 with an allocation of RM5 million.”

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