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The 8th MASEAN Conference was held in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand, from 29 to 31 October I997. SMA’s delegation comprised Dr Cheong Pak Yean, Dr Tan Kok Soo, Dr Wong Chiang Yin, Dr Tan Sze Wee and Dr Au Kah Kay. Dr Kachit Choopanya, President, Thailand Medical Association was appointed Chairman for 1997/1999 while Dr Cheong Pak Yean was appointed Secretary General. During the Conference, all delegates of the MASEAN member countries extensively discussed, shared and exchanged their views on the theme of ”Health Care Beyond the Year 2000: The Challenging Global Problems - Effective, Affordable, Accessible and Acceptable”. The delegates agreed unanimously that:

1. To effectively solve the health problems encountered by the ASEAN region countries, 
    the following actions or measures should be jointly undertaken by the governments and  
    the medical professions:
     1.1 Access to health care services should  be made available to the whole population. 
     1.2 Provision of health care should be by a mixture of public and private systems, 
           taking into account the economic cost, feasibility and appropriate use of medical 
           technology. 
     1.3 Provision of health care should aim at health promotion, based on the holistic 
           principle of curative and preventive care. 

2. All member countries have to explore further technical cooperation, with particular  
    emphasis on the exchange of visits, starting from medical students up to the level of 
    medical professionals. 

3. Exchange visits among MASEAN member countries have to be carried out on a regular 
    basis in order to promote closer friendly relations and mutual understanding, as well as to 
    effectively solve common health problems arising in neighboring countries. An exchange 
    programme of medical journals amongst member countries was accepted. 

The National Medical Association of Vietnam and Myanmar were officially admitted as full member of MASEAN. The Cambodia Medical Association was awarded Associate membership while Laos would be admitted to full membership when it forms a national association of doctors.

The 9th MASEAN Conference will be held in Hanoi, Vietnam in 1999, and the mid term MASEAN Council meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1998.