The APACPH Conference in October will address the challenges of providing health care to urban and rural communities.
Improving the healthcare needs of three million people is an ongoing
challenge in Sarawak, and it’s an area the state government has put its
focus on with an upcoming conference.
More than 800 public health experts, practitioners and industry
collaborators will come together at the 54th Asia Pacific Academic
Consortium for Public Health (APACPH) Conference 2023, taking place at
Borneo Convention Centre Kuching in October, to discuss research and
find solutions to provide everyone with access to healthcare.
It’s hoped that this conference will pave the way for health
development and address the challenges of providing health care to urban
and rural communities.
“Public health is extremely important. It goes beyond preventing and
responding to diseases — it is about giving everyone access to the right
healthcare services and facilities to improve their quality of life and
live longer,” said Dr Sim Kui Hian, Sarawak’s deputy premier and
minister for public health, housing and local government.
“The government has spent decades focusing on the improvement of
healthcare and medicine but today, we are facing new challenges that
need more research, collaboration and innovation. The 54th APACPH
Conference will be at the heart of community and public health education
and transform Sarawak into a global hub for public health research and
learning.”
The conference is set to take place from 30 October to 1 November.
The main organiser, Asia Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health
has entrusted the University of Malaysia, Sarawak (UNIMAS) as the local
host; while the Ministry of Public Health, Housing and Local Government
Sarawak, Sarawak State Health Department, and BESarawak are supporting
the conference.
Recent public health initiatives by the Sarawak Government include
forming the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee, building the Sarawak
Heart Centre, and investing RM200m ($45m) in the Sarawak Infectious
Disease Centre. The government is also in talks with the Ministry of
Health Malaysia to open a cancer care centre.