Budget Talk: Improving Cancer Care In The Public Sector
Health Today Malaysia|December 2018

Before Malaysia’s Budget 2019 was announced, leaders in cancer care and support discussed the current shortcomings and presented recommendations for improvement. HealthToday was at the front row to bring you the updates.

Hannah May-lee Wong
Budget Talk: Improving Cancer Care In The Public Sector

As Malaysia’s new government announced Budget 2019, stakeholders across the country gritted their teeth and hoped for the best as they watched reality unfold before their eyes. One of the biggest items in our nation’s overall budget every year is no doubt the healthcare budget. It increases every year and 2019 is no exception with RM29bil allocated to health services – a 7.8 percent increase.1

The increased allocation is welcome news because there are areas of our healthcare system that are still in need of improvement in terms of access and quality of treatment. One of these areas is cancer care. Cancer poses an enormous financial burden in many families, yet cancer patients face numerous challenges in gaining access to affordable public healthcare services.

On November 1, a group of opinion leaders in cancer care and advocacy – Dato’ Dr Ibrahim Wahid, Ranjit Kaur Pritam Singh and Azrul Mohd Khalib – discussed key recommendations for policy makers to consider for alleviating the unmet needs of metastatic cancer patients in our country.

BARRIERS TO BETTER CANCER CARE

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