Book Launch | Systems Thinking Analyses for Health Policy and Systems Development

The United Nations University International Institute for Global Health (UNU-IIGH), the UN think tank on global health, launched the book “Systems Thinking Analyses for Health Systems Policy and Systems Development: A Malaysian Case Study” on 28 March in an event graced by the Minister of Health YB Khairy Jamaluddin.

The Minister lauded the Institute for its work on the publication. “This book comes at a very important period. Having seen the gaps in our healthcare system and the piecemeal changes that do not bring sustained and proper reform, now we have to look at healthcare reform in a systemic manner — by looking at the various moving parts, the consequences to policy and programs, and the feedback loop mechanisms. We’ve learned a lot from the publication that we launched today,” said YB Jamaluddin.

Further, the Minister announced that the lessons from the book will be useful in a whitepaper, which the Ministry is working on as basis for a long-term, systemic reform for the healthcare system in Malaysia, which is due for presentation to the Parliament this year. Prof Pascale Allotey, UNU-IIGH Director, presented the book to the Minister, and acknowledged the many contributors to the book including Malaysian researchers and academics, as well as current and former staff from the Ministry of Health.

The book launch was accompanied by a panel discussion about the future of the Malaysian healthcare system moderated by UNU-IIGH Research Lead Prof David McCoy. Panelists Prof Jomo Kwame Sundaram (Khazanah Research Institute), Ybhg Tan Sri Dr Jemilah Mahmood (Sunway Centre for Planetary Health), and Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Abu Bakar (International Medical University) shared their perspectives on public and private healthcare financing and delivery in the country, and on the lessons drawn from COVID-19 that can help the Malaysian health care system prepare for future shocks and crises.

The book was edited by Indra Pathmanathan, David Tan, Shiang Cheng Lim, Jo Martins and Pascale Allotey, and published by Cambridge University Press.

Available at https://lnkd.in/gkMg7Nq2. #booklaunch #systemsthinking #healthsystems #malaysia