James Kon
Brunei Darussalam is working with the World Health Organization (WHO) to combat the spread of false information on social media that has affected trust on issues related to health, said Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar.
During his speech at the plenary session of the 76th World Health Assembly, the minister said that the spread of false information on social media can destroy trust, affect health outcomes and promote conflict.
He said the country is working with the WHO to strengthen the Behavioural Insights Unit’s function: to understand actions of individuals, facilitate unity among the community and build trust on health issues.
The minister also highlighted the use of the BruHealth app, which has 90 per cent of the population under its coverage.
He also noted that the country is accelerating its use of health data infrastructure management and artificial intelligence.
The minister highlighted the implementation of an intelligence hub responsible of automating surveillance and national disease response and a digital health unit to coordinate a digital transformation across all healthcare services.
The minister also noted the Sultanate’s achievements in public health, from increased life expectancy to elimination of a number of diseases, including malaria, polio, measles and rubella.
The 76th World Health Assembly is taking place in Geneva, Switzerland from May 21 to 30.
While in Geneva, the minister held bilateral discussions on health cooperation with Malaysian Minister of Health Dr Zaliha Mustafa and Thailand’s Health Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.
The minister also met with the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Non-Communicable Diseases (UNIATF) and visited the Union for International Cancer Control.
The country’s delegation to the assembly include Permanent Representative of Brunei Darussalam to the United Nations in Switzerland Dayangku Hajah Mazlizah binti Pengiran Haji Mahalee and Deputy Permanent Secretary (professional) at the Ministry of Health Dr Ang Swee Hui.
