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.
The Disease Control Division of the Ministry of Health and the Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy organised a closed-door roundtable discussion with multi-sectoral stakeholders on 16 December 2019 to discuss diabetes in Malaysia.
Earmarking this revenue, along with that collected from tobacco and alcohol, will help address the current shortfall in funding for NCD prevention programmes.
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.
Influencing what people buy by making healthy food options more affordable to increase their consumption has been shown to be the most effective policy.