RESPIRATORY diseases are among Malaysia’s three leading causes of hospital admissions and deaths, with a significant proportion of asthma cases still undiagnosed, prompting the Health Ministry to expand integrated lung care nationwide.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said asthma affected 6 per cent of adults and up to 13 per cent of children, while about one in three patients remained undiagnosed, according to the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2023.
He said chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) continued to impose a significant health burden, while tuberculosis (TB) remained a major public health challenge.
“Tuberculosis continues to put pressure on our health system, with an incidence rate of 96 cases per 100,000 population in 2024,” he said in his speech at the 2026 Annual Scientific Meeting of the NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Respiratory Health (RESPIRE) on Kuala Lumpur today.
To strengthen early detection and treatment, the Health Ministry is implementing the Healthy Lung Initiative 2025-2030, with 902 health clinics nationwide expected to adopt an integrated lung health approach by the end of this year.
“This combines health promotion, screening, smoking cessation efforts and referral pathways within a single care network centred on individual needs,” Dr Dzulkefly said.
The ministry is also expanding its Precision Public Health approach through artificial intelligence-assisted chest X-ray screening.
This includes the IHH-Health Ministry-Royal Malaysia Police LungShield programme, which aims to screen 10,000 traffic police personnel.
The initiatives are supported by the National Lung Health Registry (NALURY) to facilitate monitoring and evaluation of respiratory health programmes.
The ministry is also addressing preventable causes of respiratory disease through enforcement of the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 (Act 852).
Dr Dzulkefly said research and collaboration under RESPIRE were important in generating locally relevant evidence to support more effective respiratory health policies and clinical practices.
The annual scientific meeting brings together about 140 delegates and experts to share research findings and discuss efforts to improve respiratory health. - September 14, 2026
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