The Ministry of Health (MoH; ) is a cabinet-level ministry in the government of Brunei which oversees the health system in the country. It is currently led by a minister and the incumbent is Mohd Isham Jaafar, who took office since 1 December 2017. The ministry is headquartered in Bandar Seri Begawan.
History One physician from Europe was engaged by the medical service in 1939. In the reports that are available, no other doctors are named. Moreover, one student midwife and three midwives. As of 1949, an officer of the Malayan Medical Service, which has its headquarters in Brunei Town, is in charge of overseeing medical and health management throughout the nation. Early in 1965, the Brunei Medical and Health Department launched the region's first government "flying doctor service," continuing a British Army practice of delivering medical care to rural residents.
Responsibilities The ministry oversees four government hospitals and 60 health centres and clinics nationwide.
As of 2017, the ministry has been responsible in enforcing 11 legislations related to public health, healthcare professionals (including dentists, midwives, nurses and pharmacists), infectious diseases, medicines, mental health, poison, and tobacco.
The ministry manages the Brunei Healthcare Information Management System, commonly known as Bru-HIMS, the national electronic patient record system. It was introduced on 11 September 2012.
The ministry also manages BruHealth, the national personal health record smartphone app which is integrated with Bru-HIMS. It was introduced on 14 May 2020, initially as the national COVID-19 contact tracing app. Access to personal medical records was eventually introduced in the app in September in the same year.
The ministry is playing a key role in handling the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
Budget In the fiscal year 2022–23, the ministry has been allocated a budget of B$392 million, a 1.2 percent increase from the previous year.
List of ministers Ministers Symbols
No.PortraitMinisterTerm startTerm endTime in officeMonarchRef.1Abdul Aziz Umar1 January 198420 October 1986Hassanal Bolkiah2Johar Noordin20 October 198625 March 1998Hassanal Bolkiah –Abdul Aziz Umar25 March 199817 May 2002Hassanal Bolkiah3Abu Bakar Apong17 May 200223 May 2005Hassanal Bolkiah4Suyoi Osman24 May 200528 May 2010Hassanal Bolkiah5Adanan Yusof29 May 201021 October 2015Hassanal Bolkiah6Zulkarnain Hanafi21 October 20151 December 2017Hassanal Bolkiah7Isham Jaafar1 December 2017IncumbentHassanal Bolkiah
Deputy ministers No.PortraitMinisterTerm startTerm endTime in officeMonarchRef.1Hazair Abdullah24 May 200529 May 2010Hassanal Bolkiah
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