LITTLE CURRENT—There is a new Medical Officer of Health (MOH) at the helm of Public Health Sudbury and Districts (PHSD). Dr. Mustafa Hirji joins PHSD following more than eight years at Niagara Region Public Health where he served as Associate Medical Officer of Health, including almost five-and-a-half years as Acting Medical Officer of Health and Commissioner of Public Health and Emergency Services.
Dr. Penny Sutcliffe had announced a year-long sabbatical leading to her retirement in 2023, following 23 years of dedicated service to PHSD. Her replacement was announced in December.
Upon his appointment on March 19, Dr. Hirji announced that his first few months in the Sudbury and Manitoulin districts would focus on “building meaningful relationships internally and externally to support community health and well-being.”
To that end, Dr. Hirji came to Manitoulin Island where he continued his engagement with staff, community members, municipal and Indigenous leaders and organizations. The new MOH said he was seeking to gain valuable insights into the unique local contexts, community needs and public health opportunities and challenges. He noted the Island visit was all part and parcel of his commitment “to ensuring Public Health programming remains locally responsive, particularly through any public health system changes.”
“I am thrilled to join PHSD as the new MOH and CEO and am eager to immerse myself in the rich culture, diverse nature and vibrant communities throughout the Sudbury and Manitoulin districts,” said Dr. Hirji. “I look forward to learning from the dynamic team here and engaging with community members on improving health and health equity throughout the service area. My goal is to build on the agency’s considerable strengths and apply my skills, in collaboration with partners, to build healthy communities for all.”
While on Manitoulin, Dr. Hirji met with eight PHSD staff, including public health nurses and health inspectors and promoters, as well as with Island Indigenous leaders and municipal officials.
Manitoulin, he notes, is experiencing many of the same challenges as other districts in the PHSD catchment area—specifically the ongoing opioid overdose crisis, but also the fallout from other addictions such as tobacco and alcohol that are having huge impacts on public health and well-being.
Less well known among those issues is the current rise in sexually transmitted diseases, which have largely fallen off the radar for too many people. At present, notes Dr. Hirji, the region is seeing a massive increase in instances of syphilis.
Another significant health issue is the rising incidence of measles, troubling in that the rise has been linked to a general lack of uptake in vaccinations.
“We are living in the misinformation age,” noted Dr. Hirji, countering that with good quality information that is backed by science will be at the forefront of public health messaging. “If people don’t have the right information they can be driven to things that are not good for them,” said Dr. Hirji. “We must get the right information to people.”
Not too surprising is that mental health issues are also on the rise, something that also appears to correlate, at least in part, with the isolation stemming from the pandemic.
PHSD will be focusing on combating the underlying causes of poor health. “Health is influenced by socio-economic factors,” pointed out Dr. Hirji. “We must always try to be proactive when it comes to health.”
With his considerable experience in the public health field, Dr. Hirji is cognizant of the many-faceted issues presented in promoting and ensuring good community health.
Dr. Hirji said he had enjoyed his time on Manitoulin and gained a great deal of useful information during his engagements with local PHSD employees and community leaders.
