Sabah has recorded lower prevalence rates for several non-communicable diseases (NCDs) than the national average, although the State’s public healthcare system continues to manage a high number of active patients.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2023 showed Sabah’s adult diabetes prevalence at 8.8 per cent, the lowest in Malaysia compared with the national average of 15.6 per cent, while hypertension stood at 25.5 per cent against 29.2 per cent nationally.
Despite the lower rates, he said Sabah was managing 42,113 active diabetes cases and 86,114 active hypertension cases, in addition to 4,029 new tuberculosis (TB) cases and 131 deaths recorded as of mid-August.
He said treating tens of thousands of NCD patients across Sabah’s rural areas, including locations accessible through rivers, mountains and logging roads, posed greater challenges than managing patients in urban areas, adding: “This is the reality that requires us to act beyond the norm.”Dr Dzulkefly, speaking at the Health Minister’s Talk Session at Wisma Wanita here Friday, said NCDs claimed more than 94,000 Malaysian lives annually and stressed the need to shift from a “sick-care” approach towards keeping people healthy before they became ill.
