Message from The Honorable Minister of Minister of Health Malaysia

Salutations and greetings to all. It’s a pleasure and honour for me to support this auspicious event organised by the Malaysian Society of Wound Care Professionals (MSWCP) and the International Wound Infection Institute.

I am happy that I am able to be a part of the initiative to launch the IWII & 6TH GLOBAL WOUND CONFERENCE 2024: GLOBAL WOUNDS AND THE DIAL OF HEALING. Malaysia has always played a crucial role in wound management and therefore it is an honour to be the host country for the inaugural hybrid meeting of the International Wound Infection Institute. I would like to congratulate MSWCP President Prof. Dato’ Dr. Harikrishna K. R. Nair for taking the lead and organising this conference. There are 80 booths with 1000 delegates physically and 2000 more delegates who have joined virtually from various countries across the globe.This is bound to have a great impact on the conference.

I would also like to congratulate the MSWCP for their many projects which include the Free Home Nursing Programmes for the poor and non-ambulatory patients as well as the ‘Adopt a Patient Programme’ and ‘The Wound Care Kit Programme’. These initiatives help many Malaysians, especially those with wounds such as Diabetic foot ulcers, Venous ulcers, Pressure Injuries, Surgical, Traumatic wounds and others. It has been reported that every seven seconds, a diabetic patient dies in the world. Simultaneously, a foot is amputated every 20 seconds. With the increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases in Malaysia, the service that Prof. Dato’ Dr. Harikrishna KP Nair and all wound care specialists in Malaysia provide has become increasingly important.

Therefore, it is very crucial that wound care be looked at as an important issue. The Ministry also has allocated budgets under the Medical Development Division and the Family Health Development Division to expand wound care services in the community. There are 149 hospitals which have wound teams and units as well as 844 health clinics that have received training. I would like to congratulate the National Technical Committee on Wound Management and Prof. Dato’ Dr. Harikrishna who is also the National Advisor for Wound Care under primary health for their excellent work in spreading their expertise across the nation.

I am proud to say that Malaysia has received a lot of compliments for our top down approach in wound care management as Hospital Kuala Lumpur (Prof. Dr. Harikrishna K.R.Nair) and the Institute of Medical Research (Dr. Nazni Wasi Ahmad and Dr. Lee Han Lim) were awarded the World Health Organisation Dr. Lee Jon-Wok Award in 2018. This is great recognition for them and for the Ministry of Health Malaysia. I am also ecstatic that the MSWCP with the support of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture won the bidding for the World Union of Wound Healing Societies meeting in 2026. Education and collaboration is an important aspect of wound management globally. Congrats to Prof. Dato’ Dr. Harikrishna who has just taken over as the President for WUWHS.

I would also like to convey my gratitude to Prof. Dato’ Dr. Harikrishna KR Nair, who is also the Director of Hospital Kuala Lumpur for pioneering and expanding the services of the Wound Care Unit. My humble thanks to the MSWCP, IWII, Ministry of Health, speakers, delegates and the industry for organising and supporting this wonderful conference.

On behalf of the Ministry of Health, I would like to congratulate Prof. Dato’ Dr. Harikrishna and his team for a job well done. Thank you.

Datuk Seri Dr. Haji Dzulkefly bin Ahmad
Minister of Health Malaysia