The Health Ministry has set a target of having a pool of 50,000 volunteers by 2016 to help promote a healthy lifestyle in the country, Deputy Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya said here Thursday.

He said the deployment of the health volunteers was in line with the ministry's initiative to reduce incidents of 'lifestyle diseases' among the Malaysian population.

"About a third of the population is suffering from obesity that leads to other health complications such as diabetes," he told reporters after opening the four-day Asia Pacific Regional Conference of the World Organisation of Family Doctors (WONCA) here.

In his speech earlier, he said the Health Ministry was reviving the family doctor concept in the delivery of primary care services in the country.

"The personalised care concept in the successful delivery of the ministry's maternal and child health services is to be utilised in the delivery of our primary medical care services at the health clinics," he said.

Dr Hilmi said the revival of the concept came as the ministry was fully aware of the fact that it was important for the healthcare delivery system to focus on preventive services.

He said the strengthening of primary healthcare had been given the highest priority by the ministry when outlining the four main initiatives to strengthen Malaysia's health delivery system for the period 2014 to 2017.

"The other three focus areas are public-private integration, community empowerment and care closer to home," he said.

He said that in the case of Sarawak, the strength of community participation in its rural healthcare delivery system had gained international recognition.

"It remains relevant even till today when the global community is debating on a primary healthcare-oriented universal health coverage as a social development goal in the post-2015 era," he added.

Source: Bernama