Malaysia to equip 902 clinics with integrated lung-health services by year-end

At the 2026 Annual Scientific Meeting of the NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Respiratory Health (Respire) in Kuala Lumpur, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad unveiled a plan to implement an integrated lung-health approach in 902 clinics across Malaysia by year-end. The strategy, under the Healthy Lung Initiative 2025-2030, merges health promotion, disease screening, smoking-cessation support and referral networks into a patient-centred continuum.

Citing that lung disease ranks among the top three causes of hospitalisation and mortality, the minister noted that asthma affects 6% of adults and up to 13% of children, with many cases undiagnosed. New measures include AI-driven chest X-ray screening, the LungShield IHH-KKM-PDRM programme targeting 10,000 traffic police, and the Nalury National Lung Health Registry for monitoring. Enforcement of the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 will curb vape marketing to youth, while the Cik Era AI companion offers mobile smoking-cessation assistance. Partners from Southeast Asia, South Asia and the UK were praised for their collaborative research efforts.