Silent Health Crisis: 70 Pct Of B40 Group Have Non-communicable Diseases

By Syed Iylia Hariz Al-Qadri Syed Izman

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 (Bernama) -- Nearly 70 per cent of participants in last year's free health screening under the Health Care Scheme for the B40 Group (PeKa B40) were found to have at least one non-communicable disease (NCD), providing a clear warning of the silent health crisis plaguing the country.

Head of Benefit Package and Pricing, Strategic Purchasing Department at ProtectHealth Corporation, Dr Yussni Aris @ Haris said last year, a total of 301,650 individuals were screened through PeKa B40, and 25 per cent were found to have two or more NCDs such as diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol and obesity.

“This shows an increase in ‘multimorbidity’ cases among the low-income group. It proves the high risk faced by the low-income group, who may not be aware that they are actually suffering from the NCD,” she told Bernama recently.

She said the findings of the 2023 National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) revealed a worrying trend, when 2.5 per cent of adults in Malaysia suffer from all four major NCD diseases simultaneously, while two out of five people with diabetes do not know they have the disease until they are screened.

She emphasised that the increase in NCDs not only affected individual health, but also posed a threat to the country's overall productivity.

Dr Yussni stated that based on a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2022, NCDs contributed to 74 per cent of deaths in Malaysia, mostly involving the productive age group between 35 and 64.

"If this trend continues, more people will suffer from complications such as stroke, heart attack and kidney failure. The treatment is not only expensive, but also burdens the country's health system and the patient's family," she explained.

Launched on May 31, 2019, only 1.6 million Malaysians from the B40 group have benefited from free health screenings under the Health Care Scheme (PeKa B40) as of May 31, this year.

The scheme offers comprehensive health screenings to 6.9 million recipients of the Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR), with an ongoing commitment to raising awareness of the importance of early prevention among the community.

To expand the reach of screening, Dr Yussni said ProtectHealth had established strategic partnerships with 3,979 private clinics, 1,044 Ministry of Health (MOH) health clinics, 149 government hospitals and 211 private laboratories.

She said this initiative also included community outreach programmes and door-to-door visits to ensure that high-risk and low-income groups were not left out.

"We can provide access, facilities and information, but if the people themselves do not come forward for screening, this silent health crisis will continue to drag on unnoticed," she said.

ProtectHealth Corporation Sdn. Bhd. (ProtectHealth) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ProtectHealth Malaysia under the Ministry of Health (MOH), which was established on Dec 19, 2016.

The company is responsible for coordinating, administering and managing various healthcare service financing initiatives mandated by MOH, including PeKa B40, MADANI Medical Scheme and Hospital Services Outsourcing Programme (HSOP).

-- BERNAMA