| Rokiah Mahmud |
BRUNEI Darussalam is placing health as one of the key priorities in its Brunei Vision 2035 long-term national development plan envisioned to contribute to the country achieving a high quality of life and a dynamic and sustainable economy.
The Government of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam through the Ministry of Health (MoH) is committed to providing quality, equitable, comprehensive and accessible healthcare services for the citizens and residents of the country.
Despite the challenges posed by changes in physical demographics and disease trends, Brunei Darussalam is staying committed to achieving comprehensive healthcare coverage for all its citizens by addressing quality and safety issues through health policy and service reviews as well as strengthening cooperation with various related sectors.
These statements were made by Minister of Health Dato Paduka Dr Haji Mohammad Isham bin Jaafar in his speech during the 71st World Health Assembly on May 21–26 in Geneva, Switzerland.
Accompanying the minister was Permanent Representative of Brunei Darussalam to Switzerland, Dato Paduka Haji Mohd Mahdi bin Pehin Orang Kaya Digadong Seri Diraja Dato Laila Utama Awang Haji Abdul Rahman and Permanent Secretary at the MoH, Haji Abdul Manap bin Othman as well as several senior officers from the ministry.
The assembly, themed ‘Health for All: Commit to Universal Health Coverage’ for this year, was attended by health ministers and representatives from 194 World Health Organization (WHO) member countries.
The minister added that Brunei Darussalam fully supports the WHO in its integrated efforts to embed universal health coverage globally and ensure that healthcare is accessible to all.
He shared that some of the key strategies that have been implemented by Brunei to support this comprehensive healthcare coverage drive include the strengthening of basic healthcare through the development of a network of health centres and clinics, implementation of health information management systems which make use of information-communication technology, and the implementation of the Brunei Medicine Policy formulated to ensure safe, quality and effective medicine supplies within the country.
Dato Paduka Dr Haji Mohammad Isham in his statement also pledged support for WHO’s key agenda of strengthening the basic healthcare model worldwide and pursuing of further discussions on the importance of access to medicines and antimicrobial resistance issues to ensure global health security.
The assembly managed to reach an agreement and consensus between the WHO member countries on various important public and global health issues, namely: public health preparedness and response; elimination of polio and tuberculosis; health, environment and climate change; addressing deficiencies and access to medicines and vaccines globally; physical activity for health; global woman, child and youth health strategy; and prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
The minister also paid a courtesy visit to Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO, and Dr Shin Young Soo, WHO’s Regional Director for the Western Pacific Region.
Among matters discussed during the visits included Brunei Darussalam’s cooperation with WHO, such as technical assistance in various fields of health in such issues as addressing NCDs and national preparedness in handling public health emergencies.
The minister, accompanied by his Brunei delegation, also held bilateral discussions on health cooperation with Singapore Health Minister Gan Kim Yong and New Zealand’s Health Minister Dr David Clark and visited the Swiss Foundation for Innovation and Training in Surgery, touring its various facilities and robotic technology and surgical simulation equipment.