MOH ALLOCATES OVER RM137 MILLION TO STRENGTHEN NCD PREVENTION - DZULKEFLY

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Health (MOH) has allocated more than RM137 million this year to strengthen early prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) following a rise in diabetes and heart disease complications, which are placing pressure on the national healthcare system.

During a question-and-answer session at the Dewan Rakyat today, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the specific allocation is channelled through several initiatives, involving health screening, treatment and healthy nutrition advocacy.

“Of this amount, RM10 million is allocated for the National Health Screening Initiative (NHSI), which aims to expand early screening for NCD risk factors among Malaysians aged 18 and above.

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“Meanwhile, RM80 million is allocated for the PeKa B40 programme, which provides free health screenings for the low-income group, while RM1.7 million is allocated for the War on Sugar initiative, a healthy nutrition advocacy campaign to reduce excessive sugar consumption,” he said.

He was responding to a question from Chong Zhemin (PH-Kampar) on the preparedness of government hospitals to cope with the rising incidence of NCDs such as diabetes and heart disease, as well as the specific allocation for early prevention.

Dzulkefly said RM45.4 million has also been allocated to expand access to SGLT2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) for diabetes treatment, as well as to reduce the risk of complications such as chronic kidney disease and heart failure, thereby lowering hospital admissions and long-term treatment costs.

He said the economic burden caused by NCDs, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung disease, in Malaysia, is estimated at RM64.2 billion, comprising RM12.4 billion in healthcare treatment costs and RM51.8 billion in indirect costs, including productivity losses and premature deaths.

In his reply to a supplementary question from Dr Halimah Ali (PN-Kapar), on the latest NCD statistics, Dzulkefly said 1.8 million individuals had undergone screening under the NHSI as of last year, with 17.9 per cent found to have high blood pressure, while nine per cent recorded elevated blood sugar levels.

-- BERNAMA