We Need A Shot In The Arm For Cancer
We need to increase early detection, expand effective treatment, provide care, and improve survival.
We need to increase early detection, expand effective treatment, provide care, and improve survival.
We need local-level, granular data that is integrated with social and economic indicators.
The health component of the upcoming 12th Malaysia Plan must have a solid commitment towards ensuring that health initiatives which address the NCD crisis are grounded in reality and are fully funded.
With continued uncertainty surrounding the end of the partial lockdown which now into the second month, many patients are facing trouble with referrals and rescheduling of their treatments and surgeries.
“The release of this report gives us an opportunity to take stock, review and evaluate the successes and failures from implementation of this plan. We should know what investments worked, those that didn’t and respond to gaps in resources.”
This World Cancer Day, it cannot be business as usual.
In order to secure the best possible outcome in responding to the threat of NCDs, the Ministry of Health should get the funds it needs to fully operationalise PeKa B40 as part of the National Strategic Plan For Non-Communicable Disease 2016-2025.
We must stop blaming patients for defaulting their treatment or for not coming forward earlier for diagnosis.
There has been no move to earmark the revenue collected for the purpose of health, specifically and directly funding non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention, control and treatment.
We recommend, as a pilot programme, that the Government earmarks an initial 5 percent from the collected sin tax revenue to strengthen NCD health promotion and treatment, focusing initially on diabetes and cancer.