Drowning is a major cause of death in children in Malaysia; ranking second, after road traffic injuries, for children aged 1-18 years. 500 hundred children drown each year in our country. Although the majority of children drown in recreational sites like the sea, river and ponds, a sizable number drown at home or in hotel…
THE Health Ministry is considering making vaccination for newborns compulsory following the return of preventable diseases such as tuberculosis (TB). Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the government was considering the move due to the increasing number of parents rejecting immunisation and the spread of TB among foreign workers in Malaysia. “In general, vaccines…
The RM60mil allocation for pneumococcal vaccine to be included into the National Immunisation Programme (NIP) marks the end of the struggle of paediatricians and parents who have been demanding for the coverage for all children, says consultant paediatrician and neonatologist Datuk Dr Musa Mohd Nordin. In a joint open letter with MyHealth Outreach health activist…
Peruntukan berjumlah RM60 juta untuk vaksin pneumokokal kepada semua sebagai keputusan bijak kerajaan menurunkan jumlah kematian dan pelbagai penyakit membabitkan sistem pernafasan dalam kalangan kanak-kanak. Pemberian vaksin itu juga berupaya menjimatkan kos perubatan secara langsung dan tidak langsung sepanjang tempoh lima tahun dengan anggaran berjumlah RM488 juta. Pakar Pediatrik dan Neonatologi, Datuk Dr Musa Mohd…
Survival rates for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) – the most common childhood cancer – have improved dramatically over the past four decades. In Malaysia, more than 80% of children with ALL are expected to be cured. This stellar achievement, from a rate of approximately 40% 30 years ago, is largely due to collaborative research, development of…
PETALING JAYA: “We only did it once.” That apparently is what most young girls would say when they found out they are pregnant. “They are not aware of what they have done and they always tell us ‘we only did it once’, ” said Shahida Musa, the deinstitutionalise manager of OrphanCare, a not-for-profit foundation that helps…
PETALING JAYA: More than 1, 000 babies have been dumped since 2010, says Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail. Dr Wan Azizah said from 2010 to May 2019, there were a total of 1, 010 recorded cases of baby dumping. She added that from the 1010 cases, 64%…
Dr Wan Azizah launches the campaign to curb baby dumping. Bernama Photo SEPANG: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail today launched a campaign to curb baby dumping which she said is a serious issue that must be addressed immediately. She said 577 cases of baby dumping were recorded in the four…
LETTER | It is regrettable that we have to learn from tragedy. The deaths of several villagers from the Orang Asli Bateq tribe in Gua Musang, Kelantan including the death of a toddler from a measles outbreak could have been prevented had more effective, structured vaccination programmes been carried out. It was learnt that the…
THE announcement by the Health Ministry that it was measles which killed 15 Orang Asli from the Kuala Koh Bateq community reveals the healthcare situation for our indigenous people, “Mystery solved: It is measles” (The Star, June 18). During the Malayan Emergency (1948-1960), many Orang Asli villages were moved into settlements on the fringes of…