BUDGET 2021, tabled in Parliament yesterday, clearly demonstrates that handling the Covid-19 outbreak in a decisive manner is Putrajaya’s priority, and it wants to ensure the Health Ministry and other relevant government bodies are provided the necessary equipment, manpower and financial resources.
However, the cuts and diversion of resources to fight the coronavirus threaten to have a significant negative impact on our response to non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as cancer, kidney disease and cardiovascular diseases.
For example, it is shocking that the allocation for cancer has been drastically reduced from RM328.7 million this year to RM136.4 million. Even nephrology suffered a massive reduction.
We cannot afford to look at one crisis at a time. Telling ourselves that we will deal with cancer and chronic kidney disease some other day after we are done with Covid-19 is not an option.
Suffering will increase, and lives will be lost due to insufficient resources for treatment and care.
During this Covid-19 pandemic, we are at risk of leaving people behind and making them more vulnerable than ever.
The 2019 National Health and Morbidity Survey, released earlier this year, highlighted the insidious nature of NCDs and risk factors, such as diabetes, kidney disease, cardiovascular disease and obesity, which have a catastrophic impact on and burgeoning cost to Malaysia’s healthcare system and society as a whole. Before Covid-19, we were already living through one crisis.
Due to the interventions related to the coronavirus like the movement control order, the incidences of various NCDs have and are expected to worsen and increase.
New and increased funding, not less, should be invested in the prevention, treatment and management of these diseases, particularly in health literacy. Yet, the proportion of the health budget for 2021 is more or less the same as this year.
It was stated from the onset that one of the Budget’s primary strategies is to strengthen and protect public health, and respond to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Yet, when the allocations related to public health are reviewed, they are found to have been reduced across the board.
This is shocking. Public health is the most important aspect of our healthcare system now, and we need it to be strengthened.
More than ever, we need to protect a public healthcare system that provides quality, accessible and affordable services. We cannot take it for granted.
We call on the government to review the allocations for health under Budget 2021. – The Vibes, November 7, 2020
Azrul Mohd Khalib is chief executive of the Galen Centre for Health & Social Policy
