SUDBURY—On December 13, 2023, Public Health Sudbury and Districts (PHSD) announced that Dr. Mustafa Hirji would assume responsibility as Medical Officer of Health (MOH) in March 2024 following his predecessor, Dr. Penny Sutcliffe’s retirement after more than two decades in the role of a top doctor.

Dr. Hirji’s credentials include being an Associate Medical Officer of Health for Niagara Region Public Health and an assistant professor at McMaster University’s health program. He is also a self-described “health equity champion” which could be good news for those who face marginalization in the medical field.

Dr. Hirji has noted that he plans to prioritize the opioid crisis and the gap in childhood vaccinations that was amplified by the pandemic. About the opioid crisis, he stated there are no easy solutions to quell the endemic issue of opioid addiction, overdose and fatalities but that a positive step forward could include providing a safe drug supply and decriminalizing specific drugs could allow for patients dependent on the substance to access better medical treatments in the future.

Dr. Hirji also signaled that among several pressing public health issues, treating mental health and respiratory viruses and keeping childhood vaccines up to date is of prime concern.

“I think one of the big things that we’re all focused on right now is the opioid  crisis and the large number of deaths that we’re seeing from that,” Dr. Hirji said, while also indicating that there are no simple blanket solutions.

“Unfortunately, I think nobody’s actually figured out the solution. This is worldwide. This is an issue we’re struggling with worldwide. And I think if the solutions were known, we would probably be implementing those solutions,” Dr. Hirji said.

“Where people who are suffering from opioid addictions, we engage them, we give them a safe supply of substances to use while engaging them and transitioning them into treatment,” he said. He noted that within the illicit drug market, substances are cut with toxins that are driving incidents of fatal drug overdose upward.

“And there’s been pretty good scientific evidence showing that when you have these safe supply programs, you do reduce the number of people passing away from opioid overdoses, which I think is our first goal,” Dr. Hirji continued. He also stated that persons with substance abuse problems are often wary of reaching out for treatment for fear of reprisals, including being criminally involved in the justice system. He said decriminalizing could be a prelude to engaging with addicted persons to help them get life-saving medical treatment for their addictions. Above all, Dr. Hirji is invested in saving people’s lives so they can get well.

The incoming Medical Officer of Health also said he would advocate scaling up childhood vaccinations, which declined during the pandemic while COVID-19 vaccines were being prioritized.

“You know, when schools were closed during the emergency phase of the pandemic, we weren’t able to vaccinate students,” Dr. Hirji said.”

Over 61 million doses of measles-containing vaccine were postponed or missed from 2020 to 2022 due to COVID-19-related delays in supplementary immunization activities. In Canada, there are only a handful of current active measles cases, and the latest federal data shows that 10 cases have been reported in 2023. However, cases are up by 18 percent to about 9 million, and deaths to 136,000—mostly among children—globally.

“And many students have fallen behind in their vaccines, and we’re seeing measles popping up recently in Toronto, I believe. We see meningococcal infections pop up. We’ve seen polio pop up, not so much in Canada, but in New York, Israel and London, UK,” Dr. Hirji said.

“And I want to ensure we get those childhood vaccines back up to spec because I think that when you get kids vaccinated, they are pretty much protected from those illnesses. It’s a small effort with a huge payout.”

Dr. Hirji is scheduled to resume the new role at PHSD on March 18, 2024.

“I’m incredibly humbled that I’ve been given this opportunity,” he concluded. “I’m following Penny Sutcliffe, who’s been here for 23 years and is really seen as one of the best medical officers of health in the province,” he said.