• The government will be expanding access to education in the health sciences field from 55,000 to 150,000 within the next eight years. 
• Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the move will help fill a 1.2 million shortage of health professionals in the South East Asia region which is expected to grow to 1.8 million in 2020.
• The government has invested RM1.4 billion in health sciences, expecting it to generate returns of RM2.8 billion in gross domestic product.
• The health sciences field is one of the main clusters under the National Key Economic Areas for education and health sciences students are considered highly skilled and employable with a bright future. 
• Currently, seven public institutions and 62 private institutions of higher education offered courses in the health sciences, with a total of 80,096 students.