GPH Leadership Visits Segamat to Strengthen Hospital and SEACO Collaboration

Published: 24 August 2026

On 3 July 2025, the leadership team from the Department of Global Population Health (GPH) at Monash University Malaysia travelled to Segamat for two key engagements: a meet-and-greet with Dr Faidzal Adlee Bin Abdul Ghafar, Director of Hospital Segamat, and a strategic alignment meeting with the SEACO (South East Asia Community Observatory) team.

The visit brought together Dr Mohd Azrizan, Senior Manager of SEACO, Prof. Sarah Hawkes, Head of GPH, and Prof. Kent Buse, Director of Program Development, for discussions aimed at shaping the future direction of SEACO and its integration with the broader Monash ecosystem.

Conversations centred on strengthening the collaboration between the hospital and SEACO, particularly around research-driven service improvements, and on fostering interdisciplinary work to address pressing community health challenges. Discussions also touched on aligning research more closely with real community needs, exploring innovative public engagement tools, and advancing the department's biobank initiative in biomedical research.

Dr Faidzal shared how SEACO's research has already shaped services at Hospital Segamat, pointing to the introduction of new rehabilitation and oncology daycare offerings as direct outcomes of that partnership, a tangible example of research translating into improved healthcare delivery.

The visit also marked an introduction to the wider SEACO team for incoming department staff who will be supporting coordination and engagement efforts going forward, reflecting the growing momentum behind SEACO's integration with GPH.