13MP: Five Main Strategies For Health Reforms Including Mental Health Act

KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 (Bernama) -- The 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) focuses on health reforms to enable the people to have equitable access to quality and affordable healthcare services towards achieving a decent standard of living.

According to the 13MP document released by the Ministry of Economy today, the government has set five health reform strategies for 13MP implementation period from 2026 to 2030, namely, first, financing and governance reform; second, strengthening health promotion and security; and third, strengthening the health service delivery ecosystem.

The fourth strategy is to enhance the digitalisation of health information management; and fifth, strengthening the security of medicines and medical devices.

Among the strategies are policies and integrated promotion programmes across sectors to be strengthened to create a health-savvy society, in addition to improved health security to protect the people and the country's economy from health threats.

“The grading system will be implemented through mandatory front-of-pack labelling to reduce sugar and salt content in food and beverage products.

In addition, a high-level policy coordination committee will be formed to coordinate and monitor the needs of the health workforce, while a national professional development framework will be developed to ensure a responsive human resource management system.

The health legislative framework will also be streamlined, including the act relating to organ and tissue transplantation, while a mental capacity bill will be drafted.

“In addition, more existing cluster hospitals will be integrated with health clinics that provide primary health care services,” according to the 13MP document.

A digital platform for sharing health information will be developed to enable health service providers, whether public or private sectors across institutions and states, to provide quality services to the people as well as the outsourcing of electronic medical record systems by all government health facilities.

The national pharmaceutical regulatory system will be improved and the National Vaccine Production Development and Strengthening Fund Programme and Vaccine Programme Training will be strengthened to boost research and development as well as talent in local vaccine production.

A pharmaceutical product tracking and tracing system will be developed to ensure efficient, effective, safe, responsive and resilient pharmaceutical logistics management.

All of the strategies are designed to achieve four selected targets, namely first, the percentage of out-of-pocket expenditure by financing source from total health expenditure decreases by 32 per cent in 2030 compared to 36 per cent (2023) and second, primary health services by facility category from total health expenditure decreases to 32 per cent (2030) compared to 27.2 per cent (2023).

"The third target, the death rate due to non-communicable diseases is reduced to 18 per cent (2030) from 19.2 per cent (2023) and fourth, the percentage of the population with digital health records is targeted at 60 per cent starting in 2030," according to the document.

Tracing the achievements of the 12th RMK, witnessed the Malaysian Well-being Index (MyWI) increase to 112.6 in 2023, while until mid-2025, cardiology services in public hospitals have been strengthened through the operation of 24 invasive cardiology laboratories.

In addition, in the period from 2021 to 2025, a total of RM936.86 million has been allocated to upgrade, renovate and repair 2,215 dilapidated clinics, while a total of RM11.95 billion has been allocated to implement 255 hospital upgrading projects nationwide.

“Healthcare services for the elderly have been strengthened through the integration of seven hospitals with 20 health clinics.

“As of June 2025, 2,485 out of 4,042 private clinics registered with the MADANI Medical Scheme are still actively providing healthcare services to the underprivileged,” according to the 13th Malaysia Plan document.

Earlier in the Dewan Rakyat, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tabled the 13th Malaysia Plan themed ‘Redesigning Development’, which among other things provided an allocation of RM40 billion to implement health sector reforms over a five-year period.

-- BERNAMA