TAWAU: Make a date with Peka B40 – Health Care Scheme for Group B40 – scheduled to be held on September 21 from 8am to 2pm at the Tawau Community Centre.
Tawau MP Datuk Christina Liew wants citizens aged 40 years and above from the 40pc household income range to avail themselves of free health screening under the auspices of Peka B40.
She said those who qualify must not miss the opportunity to check out their health status, given the relatively high incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like Hypertension, Diabetes Mellitus and Hypercholesterolemia in the district in recent years.
“We also welcome the walk-ins who may not be registered under B40, in which case the doctors will do a slightly different type of health screening.
“Don’t take non-communicable diseases (NCDs) lightly. I am concerned because what I am saying is based on statistics from the health authorities.
“It is for your own good. The earlier one gets diagnosed, the earlier the treatment and possible recovery. Early detection and treatment save lives.
“For starters, we are targeting around 500 people from the Sri Tanjung state constituency alone,” Liew said.
Peka B40 is a Government initiative via the Ministry of Health (KKM) which aims to sustain the health care needs of low-income groups by focusing on NCDs.
For Tawau, Liew said, the exercise is a collaborative effort by the Tawau Parliamentary People’s Service Centre, KKM, ProtectHealth Corporation (a subsidiary company under KKM) and Permai Polyclinics. For inquiries, please call Diyan Ayu Zaenal of the People’s Service Centre at 017-8118019.
Permai Polyclinics General Manager Datuk Margaret Lim said between January and August this year, a total of 16,442 people had undergone health screening in Sabah under Peka B40, making it the fourth state with the most number of people screened, after Johor, Perak and Sarawak.
According to Dr Nirmal Kaur, who is the State Health Department’s Principal Assistant Director (NCD Sector, Public Health Division), the number of newly-diagnosed hypertension cases at the health clinics in Tawau is around 500 persons yearly.
“The figure (500) does not include cases at the Tawau Hospital. In 2019, there were 620 new hypertension cases, followed by 522 cases in 2020 and 480 cases in 2021, all of them detected and treated at health clinics in the district.
“And going by the statistics, the number of new diabetes mellitus cases is about 1200 per year. Records indicate that there were 1215 new cases in 2019, followed by 1404 cases in 2020 and 1278 cases in 2021 seeking treatment at the health clinics (excluding those being treated at the Tawau Hospital),” said the Public Health Specialist, when contacted.
Overall, there has been an increase in the prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus, Hypertension and Hypercholesterolemia in Sabah, according to the National Health Morbidity Survey (NHMS) in 2011, 2015 and 2019.
This trend, Dr Nirmal said, is based on findings from the respective surveys. “For instance, the 2011 Survey recorded 92,460 cases of diabetes mellitus, followed by 179,527 cases in 2015 and 195,088 cases in 2019.”
The NHMS is held every four years, and the next one will be carried out next year, she added.
