KUALA LUMPUR: The government is establishing collaborations among various ministries, government agencies, non-governmental organisations and the local communities, to achieve optimal and equitable health care for everyone, says Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He said the ‘whole-of-government, whole-of-society’ approach by the government would ensure that all levels of the society had equal access to public health activities and medical services, in line with the spirit of solidarity, leaving no one behind.

“The World Health Organisation has called on global efforts to reduce health inequality gaps in order to achieve optimal health for all.

“The Ministry of Health (MOH) is always working to ensure that this can be achieved through various initiatives that have been planned and implemented,” he said in a statement yesterday in conjunction with World Health Day 2021.

He said the COVID-19 pandemic had a deep and profound socioeconomic impact which has affected the daily lives of the people

According to Dr Noor Hisham, many countries faced daunting challenges in terms of finding the right balance between saving lives and livelihood, and Malaysia was no exception.

In this regard, he called on the public to continue to play their role by taking care of themselves and the surrounding community at all times, in line with the motto, 'Kita Jaga Kita'.

"The health of every resident in Malaysia is very precious and meaningful. All parties must not be complacent, and consistently adhere to standard operating procedures as well as the preventive measures that have been recommended, as this will result in our victory against COVID-19, not only in terms of our health, but also socioeconomically” he said.

-- BERNAMA