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Malaysia General News |
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Malaysia, located in Southeastern Asia peninsula bordering Thailand and the northern part of Borneo Island, used to be many different English colonies in Southeastern Asia during the 18th and 19th century. During World War 2 these colonies were occupied by Japanese forces, after World War 2 these separate colonies formed the Federation of Malaya which further gained independence from the British in 1957. The name Malaysia was later adopted in 1963, when former British colonies, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak, joined the federation. The first few years of Malaysia&8217;s history were marred with Communist Insurgency, Indonesian confrontation, Philippine claims to Sabah and Malaysia’s declaration of independence form Malaysia. A 22 year term served by Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamed helped successfully diversify the Malaysian economy from a previously raw material exporter to a wide range of manufacturing, tourism and services economy. Because of this boom in Malaysia&8217;s economy over the last two decades, the healthcare system has also seen a boom in funding leading to much advancements being made.
Data compiled by the World Health Organization shows that Malaysia has a comparable indicator of “Health Adjusted Life Expectancy̶ to that of many industrialized nations; about 63 years old for the average citizens. This indicator is meant to show how many years of “good̶ health the average citizen in Malaysia has. This accomplishment is quite remarkable for Malaysia seeing as it only devotes 3% of its GDP towards health spending, in stark contrast to many other industrialized nations who spend an average of 6% of their GDP on health. The indicator which shows most improvement in the Malaysian healthcare system is the maternal mortality rates, which have fallen ten-fold over the last three decades.
Malaysia also rates well on equal distribution of health characteristics among segments of the society, in particular in regards to different genders. When both genders are giving equal access to preventative and curative health services, women tend to be better off than their male counterparts. This pattern can be found in Malaysia, where only 2.7 years split the men from the women. Malaysia falls into the same category as countries that have budgets well in excess of five times that of Malaysia. This leads one to believe the Malaysian healthcare system has many positives about it; however there are areas for improvement. It is believed however that one contributing factor to Malaysia’s impressive statistics in regards to health despite lack of funding is the Malaysian diet, which consists primarily of vegetables and seafood.
The current health financing system in place in Malaysia is one of government subsidization, in which Malaysian citizens can go to any local public hospital and pay a heavily government subsidized fee to receive healthcare. To put it into perspective, the ministry of health only collects roughly 3% of its income in consultation fees. The rest of the income is made up heavily of government funding, and overseas aid program packages.
Overall Malaysia has a well developed and easily accessible healthcare service. As is true with any country in the world, there are some problems inherent in the system; however most people are able to receive the care that they need when they need it. The only way to avoid the issues and concerns of any healthcare system in the world is through a quality international health insurance plan. These plans give you the flexibility to go to the doctor or hospital of your choice, meaning that no matter where in the world you may be located, from Afghanistan to the United States of America, you will always be able to receive the highest standard of care available.
For more information about the Malaysian healthcare system, insurance in Malaysia, or to receive a free comprehensive international health insurance quote, please contact one of our dedicated advisers today. |
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