Home> Archive> 2019> Volume 9 Number 4 ( Nov. 2019)
IJSSH 2019 Vol.9(4): 126-132 ISSN: 2010-3646
doi: 10.18178/ijssh.2019.V9.1003

Tuberculosis Elimination in Malaysia by 2035: Linkages and Implications to SDGs

Hock Lye Koh, Mohamed Naim Abdul Kadir, Noorliza M. Noordin, and Su Yean Teh

Abstract—Good health and wellbeing (SDG 3) is a fundamental human right for all. The main determinant for good health and wellbeing critically depends on equitable access to good health care (SDG 10) consisting of a combination of strong primary health care (PHC) oriented around community and efficacious public health services (PHS) based upon hospital and professional services. The world including Malaysia has achieved dramatic improvement in the delivery of health services due to advances in socio-economic development. Yet several diseases remain a daunting challenge to sustainable development goals (SDGs). A disease of the poor and the impoverished, tuberculosis (TB) is the leading infectious disease that kills more than a million people each year worldwide. Tuberculosis infection and disease progression are primarily driven by socio-economic and cultural factors such as poor living conditions, poor nutrition and misplaced cultural beliefs. Yet, management of TB has been mainly biomedical, without addressing the socio-economic and cultural drivers, since the 1940s. Given the status of ineffective management, TB will continue to pose a real threat to SDGs, especially among the poor and susceptible populations in many parts of the world, including Malaysia. This paper addresses global issues regarding TB management in the context of SDGs and suggests reorientation of health care towards PHC to accelerate achievement of SDG 3 and other broader SDGs. A detailed case study on Malaysian health care for TB is presented to review the needs for change in TB management strategy. The paper proposes policy and program modification necessary to achieve by 2035 the WHO End TB Strategy goals and UN SDGs

Index Terms—Tuberculosis in Malaysia, primary health care, UN-SDG, WHO End TB strategy.

H. L. Koh is with the Sunway University, Bandar Sunway, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia (e-mail: hocklyek@sunway.edu.my).
Mohamed Naim A. K. is with the Ministry of Health Malaysia, Putrajaya, 62590 Federal Territories, Malaysia (e-mail: drnaim@moh.gov.my)
Noorliza M. N. is the National Public Health Laboratory, Ministry of Health Malaysia, 47000 Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia (e-mail: noorliza.noordin9@gmail.com).
S. Y. Teh is with the School of Mathematical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia (e-mail: syteh@usm.my).

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Cite: Hock Lye Koh, Mohamed Naim Abdul Kadir, Noorliza M. Noordin, and Su Yean Teh, "Tuberculosis Elimination in Malaysia by 2035: Linkages and Implications to SDGs," International Journal of Social Science and Humanity vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 126-132, 2019.

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