KAMPAR – The Health Ministry is conducting a survey on the health of members of the Orang Asli community, involving 21,000 respondents, starting from last Wednesday (July 13) to September 13.
Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the Orang Asli Health Survey (OAHS), the first ever to be conducted, involves 4,700 households in 71 selected Orang Asli villages in eight states, namely Perak, Pahang, Kedah, Terengganu, Kelantan, Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Johor.
He said the survey is being conducted with the cooperation of the Institute of Public Health Institute and the Orang Asli Development Department.
“OAHS is carried out to obtain basic health data, as well as a comprehensive burden of disease of the Orang Asli community, such as stunted growth among children, infectious and non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol and hypertension,” he said.
According to Khairy, the Public Health Institute had conducted the National Health and Morbidity Survey in 2019, but there were no details on the health problems among the Orang Asli community.
He told reporters this after launching the survey at the Sahom Community Hall, here, today.
Also present were the ministry’s secretary-general Datuk Harjeet Singh and deputy director-general (research & technical support) Datuk Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan.
A total of 15 teams have been set up to conduct the survey, which involves interviews, health screenings and examinations of children’s immunisation records.
Health check-ups include anthropometric measurements by age group, blood pressure taking, blood samples to measure sugar, cholesterol and haemoglobin levels, as well as hair and nail sampling for all ages at 14 villages selected for inspection due to exposure to heavy metals. – Bernama, July 16, 2022
