SHOWING SUPPORT: (left-right) Assoc Prof Dr Yeong, Senior Prof Khalid, Dr Balachandran and Bruyns, the student organising committee chairperson, during the Public Health Campaign officiating ceremony.

ATTENTIVE: (left-right) Dr Balachandran, Selangor Health Department Director; Mr S. Muniandy, treasurer, Diabetes Malaysia and Senior Prof Dato’ Dr Khalid listening attentively as a UCSI pharmacy student explains the management of diabetes.

GIVING BACK: A UCSI pharmacy student taking a member of the public’s blood pressure during the Public Health Campaign. Other free tests include the urine dipstick test and waist-to-hip ratio test.

FASCINATING: A UCSI pharmacy student giving the drug compounding demonstration.

A CARING UNIVERSITY: Assoc Prof Dr Yeong, dean, UCSI’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences (second from right) and Bruyns, organising committee chairperson (far right) handing over the RM2, 236.30 donation collected during the Public Health Campaign to Dia

KUALA LUMPUR: UCSI University’s recent Public Health Campaign (PHC) has won praise from Selangor Health Department Director Dr Balachandran Satiamurti. 

Attending the campaign as the guest of honour, Dr Balachandran thanked the University for promoting public awareness in the fight against diabetes, a metabolic condition that affects 15.2% of Malaysian adults. 

“I’m pleased that UCSI reaches out to the public on a regular basis,” he said after the event which was held at Giant, Subang Jaya. “The PHC is a great way to promote awareness on diabetes – a major complication that drives up healthcare costs. 

“The Health Ministry is doing its best to drive early awareness campaigns and UCSI’s efforts clearly support our initiatives. 

“I congratulate UCSI for taking the lead with their efforts.” 

Dr Balachandran added that he was encouraged to see UCSI’s future pharmacists going “out of their comfort zone” to impact the community. 

The element of community service was also noted by UCSI Vice-Chancellor and President, Senior Professor Dato’ Dr Khalid Yusoff. 

“The PHC passes as a good training ground for our Pharmacy students to address the needs of the community – those whom they will serve in the future,” he said. 

“University education must encompass efforts beyond classroom activities and efforts like the PHC equip our students with the know-how and confidence to hit the ground running when they start working.” 

Organised annually by UCSI’s Pharmacy Student Association, this year’s PHC was themed ‘Treasure Your Health; Prevent Diabetes’. 

Held with the support of Diabetes Malaysia – an organisation that provides social services to diabetics – the two-day event saw students providing free health checks, blood pressure tests, waist-to-hip ratios and urine dripstick tests, among others, to the public. 

Exhibitions, a Q&A session on diabetes and drug adherence, as well as a drug compounding demonstration, among others were also held. 

Donations were also collected for Diabetes Malaysia and a total of RM2, 236.30 was raised. 

UCSI Group Founder and Chairman Dato’ Peter Ng and UCSI Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences Dean, Associate Professor Dr Yeong Siew Wei also attended the event, which was sponsored by Giant. 

A community-focused initiative, the PHC is held across Malaysia. To date, it has impacted communities in Selangor, Malacca, Johor, Pahang and Perak.