2011•05•27     Kuala Lumpur

Following the launch of the The Lancet’s Health in Southeast Asia series in Bangkok on 25 January 2011, the series has now been launched Malaysia. This Lancet series is the first to address the current and pressing health issues confronting the Southeast Asian region and the launch highlights the key health issues and findings for Malaysian stakeholders. Research Fellows from UNU-IIGH contributed to writing two articles in the publication.

The state of health and threats to health have become a regional and international issue which transcends geographical and physical boundaries. In many ways, Southeast Asia is a microcosm of global health. Their is a shortage of scientific literature on health issues in the region, even though there may have been sufficient publications on individual Southeast Asian countries.

The health issues being addressed in the publication include diversity and transitions in the state of health and healthcare systems, maternal and child health, communicable and non-communicable diseases, human resources for health and health-financing reforms. It is envisaged that the health issues and concerns raised in this Lancet publication would prompt Southeast Asian countries to address them in their countries’ health policies and strategies, with the aim of improving the health status of their general populations.

Funded by the China Medical Board this  publication is a collaborative effort by a group of health professionals and academics from several Southeast Asian countries in an effort to bring their minds together to compile and consolidate health information on this region in a single publication.