MyMedR

Fulltext Eliminating malaria in Malaysia: the role of partnerships between the public and commercial sectors in Sabah

Sanders KC, Rundi C, Jelip J, Rashman Y, Smith Gueye C, Gosling RD

Malar J, 2014;13:24.

PMID: 24443824 DOI: 10.1186/1475-2875-13-24

Countries in the Asia Pacific region have made great progress in the fight against malaria; several are rapidly approaching elimination. However, malaria control programmes operating in elimination settings face substantial challenges, particularly around mobile migrant populations, access to remote areas and the diversity of vectors with varying biting and breeding behaviours. These challenges can be addressed through subnational collaborations with commercial partners, such as mining or plantation companies, that can conduct or support malaria control activities to cover employees. Such partnerships can be a useful tool for accessing high-risk populations and supporting malaria elimination goals.

Matched MeSH terms: Public Health/economics

Fulltext Cigarette tax avoidance and evasion: findings from the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation (ITC) Project

Guindon GE, Driezen P, Chaloupka FJ, Fong GT

Tob Control, 2014 Mar;23 Suppl 1:i13-22.

PMID: 24227541 DOI: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2013-051074

Decades of research have produced overwhelming evidence that tobacco taxes reduce tobacco use and increase government tax revenue. The magnitude and effectiveness of taxes in reducing tobacco use provide an incentive for tobacco users, manufacturers and others, most notably criminal networks, to devise ways to avoid or evade tobacco taxes. Consequently, tobacco tax avoidance and tax evasion can reduce the public health and fiscal benefit of tobacco taxes.

Matched MeSH terms: Public Health/economics

Fulltext Success stories in genomic medicine from resource-limited countries

Mitropoulos K, Al Jaibeji H, Forero DA, Laissue P, Wonkam A, Lopez-Correa C, et al.

Hum Genomics, 2015 Jun 18;9:11.

PMID: 26081768 DOI: 10.1186/s40246-015-0033-3

In recent years, the translation of genomic discoveries into mainstream medical practice and public health has gained momentum, facilitated by the advent of new technologies. However, there are often major discrepancies in the pace of implementation of genomic medicine between developed and developing/resource-limited countries. The main reason does not only lie in the limitation of resources but also in the slow pace of adoption of the new findings and the poor understanding of the potential that this new discipline offers to rationalize medical diagnosis and treatment. Here, we present and critically discuss examples from the successful implementation of genomic medicine in resource-limited countries, focusing on pharmacogenomics, genome informatics, and public health genomics, emphasizing in the latter case genomic education, stakeholder analysis, and economics in pharmacogenomics. These examples can be considered as model cases and be readily replicated for the wide implementation of pharmacogenomics and genomic medicine in other resource-limited environments.

Matched MeSH terms: Public Health/economics

Sweat or no sweat: foreign workers in the garment industry in Malaysia

Crinis V

J Contemp Asia, 2010;40(4):589-611.

PMID: 20845568 DOI: 10.1080/00472336.2010.507046

In the last decade factory owners, in response to brand-name Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) parameters, have joined associations that verify (through a monitoring and audit system) that management does not exploit labour. There have been no reports of violations of codes of conduct concerning Malaysian workers but for foreign workers on contract there are certain areas that have been reported. These areas, including trade union membership, the withholding of workers' passports and unsuitable accommodation, generally escape notice because auditors who monitor factory compliance do not question the terms of contracts as long as they comply with national labour standards. This paper is based on research with foreign workers in Malaysia and argues that despite the success of the anti-sweatshop movement in a global context, the neo-liberal state in Malaysia continues to place certain restrictions on transnational labour migrants which breach garment industry codes of conduct. Available evidence does not support the assumption that CSR practices provide sufficient protection for both citizen and foreign workers on contract in the garment industry.

Matched MeSH terms: Public Health/economics

Government public health policy: three cautionary tales from Malaysia, South Africa and the United States

Blum J, Carstens P, Talib N

Med Law, 2007 Dec;26(4):615-42.

PMID: 18284107

Three authors describe problematic scenarios of health policy in their respective countries. These examples illustrate the role of government influences in determining resource allocation, legislation, health provision and health outcomes in very different situations. These outcomes are affected not only by attitudes to public health, but also by the legal systems in the countries which are the subjects of this study. The authors draw conclusions about the use and abuse of public health regulation.

Matched MeSH terms: Public Health/economics

Governing agricultural progress: a genealogy of the politics of pest control in Malaysia

Triantafillou P

Comp Stud Soc Hist, 2001;43(1):193-221.

PMID: 17941160

Matched MeSH terms: Public Health/economics

Fulltext SEATCA Tobacco Industry Interference Index: a tool for measuring implementation of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Article 5.3

Assunta M, Dorotheo EU

Tob Control, 2016 May;25(3):313-8.

PMID: 25908597 DOI: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2014-051934

OBJECTIVE: To measure the implementation of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Article 5.3 at country level using a new Tobacco Industry Interference Index and to report initial results using this index in seven Southeast Asian countries.

METHODS: Score sheet based on WHO FCTC Article 5.3 Guidelines sent to correspondents in seven Southeast Asian countries, using a scoring system designed with the help of tobacco control experts and validated through focused group discussions.

RESULTS: The seven countries ranked from the lowest level of interference to the highest are Brunei, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia, Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. Countries that face high levels of unnecessary interaction with the tobacco industry also face high levels of tobacco industry influence in policy development. Most governments do not allow any tobacco industry representatives on their delegation to sessions of the Conference of the Parties or its subsidiary bodies nor accept their sponsorship for delegates, but most governments still accept or endorse offers of assistance from the tobacco industry in implementing tobacco control policies. Most governments also receive tobacco industry contributions (monetary or in kind) or endorse industry corporate social responsibility activities. Governments do not have a procedure for disclosing interactions with the tobacco industry, but Lao PDR, Philippines and Thailand have instituted measures to prevent or reduce industry interference.

CONCLUSIONS: This Tobacco Industry Interference Index, based on the WHO FCTC Article 5.3 Guidelines, is a useful advocacy tool for identifying both progress and gaps in national efforts at implementing WHO FCTC Article 5.3.

Matched MeSH terms: Public Health/economics

Opium and empire: some evidence from colonial-era Asian stock and commodity markets

Bailey W, Truong L

J Southeast Asian Stud, 2001;32(2):173-93.

PMID: 19192502

Matched MeSH terms: Public Health/economics

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