Founders Narender Panjwani & Thomas Masterson
Publisher & Managing Director Narender Panjwani narender @ globalhealthandtravel . com
Chief Executive Officer and President Varun Panjwani varun @ globalhealthandtravel . com
Editor Gabriele Bettinazzi gabriele @ globalhealthandtravel . com
Editorial Director ( Aesthetics ), Branding and Communication Manager Drishti Panjwani drishti @ globalhealthandtravel . com
Copy editor Martin Murphy Contributor Richard Whitehead Design Noel de Guzman / Artmazing !
Advertising Manager South East Asia SK Wong sk @ globalhealthandtravel . com
Marketing Manager Wisal Abughalia wisal @ globalhealthandtravel . com
Business Development Executive ( Malaysia ) Nurainina Natasha rhainna @ globalhealthandtravel . com
Canada Office Anjika Sabhani anjika @ globalhealthandtravel . com
Kishor Sabhani kishor @ globalhealthandtravel . com 900 Rice Road , Edmonton T6R 1A2 , Alberta Canada , Tel . 1-780-4999011
Dubai Office Anil Dadlani Anil @ leouae . com 2207 Regal Tower , Business Bay , PO BOX 126161 , Dubai , UAE Tel . 97150-2149000
India Office Surbhi Pandit Surbhi @ globalhealthandtravel . com A-27 , South Extension , Part 2 , New Delhi , 110049
Malaysia Office GHT Malaysia Sdn Bhd Level 18 , WeWork , Plaza Equatorial
Jalan Sultan Ismail 50250 Kuala Lumpur
Singapore Office Narender Panjwani Narender @ globalhealthandtravel . com 1 Kim Seng Promenade , # 11-01 Great World City Office , East Tower Singapore 237994
Founder Sunthari Pillay , usunthari @ gmail . com + 65 6816 2159
Printed by : Times Offset ( Malaysia ) Sdn Bhd ( 194695-W )
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
When an unknown virus was first reported in China in December 2019 , the news barely made a blip in our minds . One year on , the new coronavirus has created one of the most challenging health crises in modern times , forcing us to fundamentally alter how we interact with each other on a human level .
Businesses closed down , millions of people now work from home or are unemployed , and large gatherings have suddenly become taboo due to the high risk of viral spread .
Despite the challenges , our team managed to keep the annual Asia- Pacific Healthcare and Medical Tourism Awards alive . While the event was slimmed down , we were still able to congratulate some of the winners individually and present them their trophies in person . Huge thanks go out to our colleagues Wisal Abughalia , SK Wong , and Harivarmaa Perumal ( Hust ), who went all out to overcome the logistical hurdles in setting up a dozen small events in such a short period of time .
We couldn ’ t have made these events successful without the invaluable support of Dr Jacob Thomas , Sherene Azli , Dr Prem Pillay , and Dr Ravi Shrestha . Thank you for your contribution to the Global Health Asia-Pacific Awards .
During such difficult times , a special mention needs to go to the team at the Ministry of Health in Malaysia for keeping the nation ’ s COVID-19 infection and death numbers low , especially compared to the worst-hit countries . In light of this success , the judging committee awarded the Malaysian Health Minister , YB . Dato ’ Sri Dr Adham Bin Baba , with the Stellar COVID-19 Achievement of the Year recognition and the Director-General of Health Malaysia , Tan Sri Dato ’ Seri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah , with the Lifetime Achievement Award .
Though the pandemic also posed insurmountable barriers to medical tourism , the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council ( MHTC ) succeeded in creating a travel bubble for international patients to reach the country safely . This was just the latest achievement in a long list under the watch of Sherene Azli , MHTC ’ s CEO and the recipient of this year ’ s Outstanding Leadership in Healthcare Travel Award .
Another healthcare giant honoured at the Global Health Asia- Pacific Awards 2020 was Tan Sri Dato ’ Dr Yahya Awang , a pioneering cardiothoracic surgeon who spent his whole life improving the quality of cardiology in Malaysia . He not only helped establish the country ’ s best heart centres but also successfully performed heart bypass surgery on Malaysia ’ s then-prime minister Dr Mahathir
4 DECEMBER 2020 GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com