Health Programmes for Malay Community

20 January 2015

Question No. 442

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Zaqy Mohamad
MP for Choa Chu Kang GRC

Question:

To ask the Minister for Health in respect of the latest statistics by the National Registry of Diseases that a disproportionate number of diabetics and patients with kidney failure, heart attacks and strokes come from the Malay population (a) whether the Ministry has plans to address the issue with the Malay community; and (b) whether the Ministry has conducted specific research on the causes and devised strategies to address them accordingly.

Answer:

1.       There are ethnic differences in the rates of non-communicable diseases in Singapore.  While Chinese had the highest incidence of cancer, Malays had the highest incidence of kidney failure, heart attacks and stroke in 2013.  These non-communicable diseases all have common lifestyle risk factors such as obesity, smoking, unhealthy diet, a lack of sufficient physical activity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.  However, the impact of these risk factors can be reduced through the adoption of a healthier lifestyle, including having a balanced diet, sufficient physical activity, not smoking, and going for regular health screening.

2.       MOH and the Health Promotion Board (HPB) have a variety of preventive health programmes and activities targeted at the general population, including children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly, to keep Singaporeans healthy and free of illness and disability for as long as possible through the adoption and maintenance of healthy lifestyle habits.  To further encourage positive behavioral change, we launched the Healthy Living Masterplan in 2014, which aims to make healthy living accessible, natural, and effortless for all Singaporeans.

3.       While rolling out population-based programmes to all Singaporeans, HPB has, over the years, tailored programmes specific to the cultural context of the various ethnic groups.  Take for example, the Holistic Women’s Health Workshop Series, which aims to empower women to take charge of their own and families’ health over a range of health topics.  This series of workshops are not only conducted in English, but also contextualised for the Chinese and Malay speaking audiences.

4.       Since 2012, HPB has been partnering Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS) and mosques in the Ramadan I Quit smoking cessation programmes.  In 2014, of the 1507 participants, 1 in 5 quit smoking and another 1 in 4 reduced the number of cigarettes smoked.  In 2013, HPB partnered the Singapore Muslim Women’s Association (Persatuan Pemudi Islam Singapura or PPIS) and mosques to launch the 2014 Health calendar for Malay women.  Serving as a healthy living educational tool, the calendar incorporates healthy recipes, health tips and screening messages to help users make healthier choices for themselves and their families.  The response was positive, and we have increased the distribution of the 2015 calendar 10 fold, to 30,000 households.  In fact, this initiative has proven so popular, we have just launched a Chinese version of this calendar for the Chinese community too.

5.       Such initiatives and programmes are guided by the data and research that MOH and HPB conduct on the population, such as the National Health Survey, National Health Surveillance Survey and National Nutrition Survey.  These surveys gather quantitative data on the health behaviour of the community, and are complemented by ongoing qualitative feedback for further fine-tuning of programmes.