The Health Departments of the Philippines and Malaysia recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)) to collaborate further on the advancement of the health sector in the two countries.

Secretary of Health Francisco Duque III who represented the Philippines and YB Datuk Seri Dr. Dzulkefly bin Ahmad, Minister of Health from the Government of Malaysia met in Putrajaya, Malaysia on 31st July 2019 to discuss the strengthening of the two countries’ bilateral ties through collaborative activities for healthcare.

Under the MOU, both countries agreed to collaborate in the areas of: primary healthcare; reproductive health; health education; human resources for health development; nutrition; exchange of information on issues related to food safety and quality including but not limited to rapid alert systems related to imported products; prevention and control of communicable diseases; prevention and control of non-communicable disease; regulatory control of pharmaceuticals; traditional medicines, herbal medicine, health supplements and cosmetic products; medical devices; health tourism; health researches; and healthcare services.

The Philippines and Malaysia emphasized the importance of advancing collaboration to address cross-border health concerns amidst the rapidly changing global environment. This collaboration between the neighboring countries is crucial to rapidly respond to public health threats and prevent greater health risks including epidemics, microbial resistance, among others.

They also reaffirmed their commitment to support each other in joint activities, such as port-to-port collaboration on healthcare and vaccination programme for children in Alternative Learnings Centers, as part of efforts to help realize Universal Health Care under ASEAN.

“We both hope that the outcome of this meeting will further strengthen the ties and cooperation in the management of cross-border issues relating to the health of both our countries and across various stakeholders, and we look forward to a lasting collaboration between both countries in tackling and resolving health issues,” Philippine Health Secretary Duque concluded.