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.
In the 2016 edition of the Economist’s War on Cancer, Malaysia is estimated to record a 49% increase in breast cancer cases between 2012 to 2025. This is worrying as Malaysia recorded the lowest rate of five-year survivorship rate as well as the highest rate of mortality and incident rates in the region.
Increasing existing treatment coverage and the quality of care available should not be described by mere words, rhetoric and grand announcements but by firm commitments from both the public and private sector.