976 ‘Know Your Medicine’ ambassadors to spread message to public

KUALA LUMPUR: The ‘Duta Kenali Ubat Anda ( DKUA)’ or ‘Know Your Medicine Ambassador’ programme introduced by the Ministry of Health ( MOH) in 2012 now has 976 trained ambassadors across the country.

The programme, which applies the mentor-mentee concept, with the pharmacists acting as mentors to the appointed ambassadors, has conducted 2,760 activities aimed at educating the public on wise usage of medications.

MOH secretary- general Datuk Seri Dr Chen Chaw Min told a press conference yesterday that the programme was to encourage the public to be actively involved in quality usage of medications.

“The ambassadors appointed comprise influential community representativessuchasthepenghulu, village heads, resident association representatives, advisory board members and non-governmental organisation members who can be role models to the local community in this aspect.

“These ambassadors have been trained using a structured and comprehensive training module to ensure they comprehend and are able to relay the information to the community more effectively,” he said.

Earlier, Dr Chen opened the ‘Know Your Medicine’ National Conference which highlights the role of these ambassadors in building healthy communities.

The three- day conference until today organised under the MOH Pharmaceutical Services Programme in collaboration with the Malaysian Pharmaceutical Association, is attended by 201 ‘Know Your Medicine’ ambassadors and pharmacists from across the country.

Dr Chen also gave out awards to five finalists of the ‘Know Your Medicine’ Innovation Project, and 10 platinum and 20 gold awards to the most active ambassadors. — Bernama