Health Dept asked to work with local community
KUCHING: The Health Department must work closely together with the local community so as to engage them, especially the rural folk, on health-related issues.
Speaking to the media after officiating at Risda’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project at the state Health Department premises here yesterday, Minister of Rural and Regional Development Dato' Seri Shafie Apdal believed that this initiative would bring down the number of diseases or illnesses among the people so that they would be able to help in nation-building.
He said the Ministry of Health and his ministry had joined forces to kick - start a ' Komuniti Sihat Perkasa Negara’ ( Kospan) programme which was being carried out at 550 villages in Sarawak.
The programme, he added, had so far produced a total of 2,294 individuals from the Community Development Department (Kemas) who were trained to disseminate and promote health awareness.
The rural folk, he added, were at a disadvantage of not having fast excess to medical facilities, “and that is why we are helping them with health education and train them to perform first aid”.
On the CSR programme, Risda he said, had donated a hearse to the state Health Department to help villagers to carry out their funeral rites.
Besides the van, Risda directorgeneral Dato Wan Zuki Mohamad also handed over a donation of RM106,770 to the state Health Department director Datu Dr Zulkif li Jantan for Sarawak General Hospital.
He also gave RM2,000 to Kuching Medical Club. Risda has allocated RM1 million for its CSR programmes that involves education and health to help the people this year. It also allocated RM96 million to Sarawak to carry out re-planting projects.
Deputy Minister of Rural and Regional Development Datuk Alexander Nanta Linggi, its chief secretary Datuk Seri Ibrahim Muhamad and advisor Datuk Seri Zainal Abidin Osman were also present at the function.