Method: A cross-sectional study involving a convenience sampling of 125 documented migrant workers from five selected countries was conducted. A researcher-administered questionnaire consisting of socio-demographic questions, three-day 24-hour dietary recall (3DR), and nine-item Household Food Insecurity Access Scale was used. Anthropometric measurements, including body weight, height, and waist circumference, were taken.
Findings: About 57.6% of the households studied were food insecure (24.8% mildly, 29.6% moderately, and 3.2% severely). Burmese were found to have the highest rate of household food insecurity (96%). The majority of the migrant workers were of normal weight (68.0%). No significant relationship was found between monthly household income and household food security status (p = 0.475), as well as between household food security status and weight status (p = 0.535).
Conclusion: Results imply that food security status affects certain nutrient intake among migrant workers. There were no significant associations between variables. Interventions focusing on nutritional education on food choices and implementation on health policy are recommended. Further studies should consider the accessibility, nutritional-related diseases, and dietary aspects of migrant workers, which are risk factors for food insecurity.
OBJECTIVE: To assist with achieving these goals and to inform the development of a national strategic plan for Malaysia, we estimated the long-term burden incurred by the care and management of patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. We compared cumulative healthcare costs and disease burden under different treatment cascade scenarios.
METHODS: We attached direct costs for the management/care of chronically HCV-infected patients to a previously developed clinical disease progression model. Under assumptions regarding disease stage-specific proportions of model-predicted HCV patients within care, annual numbers of patients initiated on antiviral treatment and distribution of treatments over stage, we projected the healthcare costs and disease burden [in disability-adjusted life-years (DALY)] in 2018-2040 under four treatment scenarios: (A) no treatment/baseline; (B) pre-2018 standard of care (pegylated interferon/ribavirin); (C) gradual scale-up in direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment uptake that does not meet the WHO 2030 treatment uptake target; (D) scale-up in DAA treatment uptake that meets the WHO 2030 target.
RESULTS: Scenario D, while achieving the WHO 2030 target and averting 253,500 DALYs compared with the pre-2018 standard of care B, incurred the highest direct patient costs over the period 2018-2030: US$890 million (95% uncertainty interval 653-1271). When including screening programme costs, the total cost was estimated at US$952 million, which was 12% higher than the estimated total cost of scenario C.
CONCLUSIONS: The scale-up to meet the WHO 2030 target may be achievable with appropriately high governmental commitment to the expansion of HCV screening to bring sufficient undiagnosed chronically infected patients into the treatment pathway.
METHODS: A historical review of official reports, news articles, and gray literature was undertaken to identify tobacco industry tactics and strategies to hamper government efforts in implementing stronger pictorial health warning regulations in four Asian jurisdictions (Cambodia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and the Philippines).
RESULTS: Nineteen countries/jurisdictions in the WHO Western Pacific region currently require pictorial health warnings on cigarette packs, including some of the world's largest, in line with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Article 11 Guidelines. In the four jurisdictions examined, tobacco industry interference consisted of lobbying and misinformation of high-level government officers and policy-makers, distributing industry-friendly legislative drafts, taking government to court, challenging government timelines for law implementation, and mobilizing third parties. Strong political leadership and strategic advocacy enabled governments to successfully overcome this industry interference.
CONCLUSION: The tobacco industry uses similar tactics in different jurisdictions to derail, delay, and weaken the implementation of effective health warning policies. Identifying and learning from international experiences can help anticipate and defeat such challenges.