On September 26, 2024, Cochrane Malaysia proudly marked its 10th anniversary at a vibrant celebration held at the Avante Hotel in Bandar Utama, Selangor. The event was officiated by Malaysia's Deputy Minister of Health, YB Dato' Lukanisman Awang Sauni, and graced by H.E. Orla Tunney, the Irish Ambassador to Malaysia. Global and regional health leaders and distinguished guests, including Cochrane's global CEO, Catherine Spencer, Directors of Cochrane Centres in Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Taiwan, also attended the event.
The celebration featured presentations, awards and a series of workshops that reflect Cochrane Malaysia’s ongoing contributions to health and scientific research, both locally and globally. To date, 325 Malaysian Cochrane authors have published 119 reviews. In recent years two Malaysian authors have won the prestigious international Kenneth Warren Prize for the best Cochrane review on health problems in low- and middle-income countries. Additionally, Cochrane Malaysia Co-Director Professor Dr Jacqueline Ho received the Anne Anderson Award for extraordinary contributions to women's participation within Cochrane and scientific research.
“We live in an age of information and when it comes to health it is critical that all of us – doctors, patients, carers, members of the public - can access high-quality evidenced-based information to help us make informed decisions about healthcare....and this is what Cochrane does,” said Prof. Karen Morgan, President & CEO of RCSI & UCD Malaysia Campus, the host institution of Cochrane Malaysia, in her welcome address.
One of the highlights of the celebration is the presentation of the Cochrane All-time Achievement Awards to volunteer translators and institution with the highest number of translations over the last decade. “This anniversary milestone gives us an opportunity to celebrate all our authors and fantastic local volunteers, who have been translating plain language Cochrane evidence summaries from English into Bahasa Malaysia since 2015. To date the team has translated over 4,500 evidence summaries that attract over one million views online each year. This is just one example that demonstrates the impact of our individual and collective work and commitment to improving health and access to evidence for all,” Professor Ho said. Prof Dr Noorliza Mastura Ismail from Manipal University College Malaysia and Associate Prof Dr Shazlin Shaharudin from Universiti Sains Malaysia won the individual awards, while the School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia took home the institutional award.
View the special video on Cochrane Malaysia’s Decade of Impact: https://youtu.be/9FBhEQfkEwI
Another highlight of the event was the announcement of the continued national subscriptionto the Cochrane Library. Funded by the Ministry of Health, the national subscription ensures that all Malaysians can access this trusted health evidence at cochranelibrary.com free of charge from any computer or device anywhere in Malaysia without the need for a log-in. “The Cochrane Library is an essential resource for our researchers, policymakers, clinicians and population at large in Malaysia, as it guides them in making healthcare decisions,” said Dato’ Lukanisman Awang Sauni. “The Ministry of Health is proud to provide accessibility to all.”
Catherine Spencer expressed her gratitude to all contributors and supporters, affirming that Cochrane Malaysia stands as a vital member of the global Cochrane Collaboration. She emphasized the importance of continuing to build on the successes of the past decade to further enhance the quality and accessibility of health evidence.
As Cochrane Malaysia moves into the next decade, we remain dedicated to contributing to evidence that would help people around the world make informed health decisions.
Caption: Birthday cake cutting with guests of honour, the Deputy Minister of Health Malaysia and Irish Ambassador to Malaysia, together with Cochrane Malaysia affiliate heads, and special guests who were present at the launch of Cochrane Malaysia in 2014.
Caption: Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with us!
Two concurrent workshops were held in the morning of the celebrations: 1. Systematic review made easy for undergraduate students and 2. Cochrane Methods workshop.
