KUALA LUMPUR: The government is drawing up the National Health Literacy Policy, which would see healthcare awareness programmes carried out on various platforms at all levels by optimising facilities at its agencies.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said Community Health Agents or the MyCHAMPION development programme would be carried out to enhance health literacy among the people, especially in wellness education and promotion.
"With a high level of health literacy, the Malaysian Family will get health information, make healthy living a culture, conduct personal health monitoring as preventive steps against illnesses and take care of their health to avoid complications.
"The Malaysian Family will also be able to benefit from health services to make health-related decisions and practise a healthy lifestyle, and at the same time maintain good health," he said in a pre-recorded speech to launch the Agenda Nasional Malaysia SIhat (ANMS) aired on TV1 earlier.
He said Malaysian Family members in the B40 categories would have access to information on health and screening for free through the PekaB40 scheme.
This would ensure the people are able to identify health risks early and allow intervention whether at the Wellness Hub (Hub Sejahtera), health clinics and hospitals depending on their health status, he said.
He said skills for self-screening such as reading blood pressure and blood glucose levels would also be taught.
"The Malaysian Family would also get health benefits to manage body weight, stress management and help services to quit smoking, as well as undergo health intervention at facilities with a conducive environment.
"With this, the Malaysian Family will not only be able to make healthy living a culture, but also reduce costs for treatment and rehabilitation, and enjoy a better quality of life," he said.