KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 ― Managing the mental health of Malaysia’s population now is the government’s utmost priority in the fight against Covid-19, according to Health Minister Datuk Dr Adham Baba.
He said it is important to come up with proper strategies to manage mental health in order to break the vicious cycle of infections and prepare for life after the pandemic.
“We need to manage mental health using cognitive-behavioural approaches, mindfulness and spirituality.
“By practising the cognitive-behavioural, mindfulness, and spirituality strategies, we may enhance our acceptance, optimism and commitment to prepare for a ‘new or renewed normal’.
“Managing our mental health is our utmost priority now to ensure the curve can be flattened and Covid-19 can be defeated,” he said in his keynote address during the Malaysian Healthcare Conference 2021 today.
Dr Adham also said Malaysia needs to start making paradigm shifts in healthcare.
He said the pandemic revealed the importance of healthcare transformation, health equity and access in communities.
He also said the pandemic strained Malaysia’s healthcare system and showed that it needed to transform in order to better serve the population.
“Covid-19 has also made the case for the importance of healthcare transformation and emphasized the importance of health equity and access in our communities. Health and wealth are interlinked.
“Health systems cross sectors to support more economically active societies. We need to start shifting paradigms in healthcare by making systemic challenges more obvious, by proving the case for integrated and digital delivery, and more flexible workforces,” he said.
