PUTRAJAYA, May 21 — Malaysia has established health cooperation with Iran to strengthen the country's health system and open up space for knowledge sharing in the pharmaceutical sector, medical technology applications, and excellent clinical practices.
The Health Ministry (MOH) announced that Iran's expertise, especially in organ transplantation programmes, can potentially improve the quality of treatment in Malaysia.
In line with the aspirations of the Health White Paper, bilateral cooperation is expected to provide benefits, including increasing the expertise of health workers through exchange programmes, joint training, and collaborative research.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) today, the MOH said this will produce highly skilled health human resources and become the main pillar of a resilient and efficient health system.
In addition, collaboration in public health research, nutrition and management of non-communicable diseases (NCD) is significant in shaping a healthier and more productive Malaysian society.
Earlier, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad held a brief bilateral meeting with Iran's Health Minister Mohammad-Reza Zafarghandi on the sidelines of the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA78).
During the meeting, Mohammad-Reza highlighted his country’s advanced achievements and best practices in organ transplant surgeries, with over 2,000 liver transplants and 1,200 kidney transplants performed across 20 centres throughout the country in 2024.
"The sheer number of successful donor pledges further encourages the agenda for Malaysia to follow suit, having similar barriers to overcome in terms of religious sentiments towards organ donation," Dr Dzulkefly said in a post on X.
He added that Malaysia must go beyond 'Saya sudah Berikrar' to 'Warisku Hormati Ikrar' ('I Have Pledged' to 'My Family, Respect My Pledge Please'), creating a culture that truly honours the donor's wishes.
The minister noted that in Malaysia, organ transplant is the best solution or the gold standard to ensure quality of life for those with chronic kidney disease (CKD), especially with end-stage renal failure on dialysis.
"There are also areas of exploration in terms of fellowships, trainings for our surgeons, post-basic training for nurses as well as potential for sharing of technologies, research, development and pharmaceuticals, that shall be seriously pursued," Dr Dzulkefly said.
He is heading the Malaysian delegation to WHA78 in Geneva, Switzerland, which runs from May 18 to May 22.
— Bernama
