Over RM137 Million Allocated to Combat Non-Communicable Diseases
KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Health has allocated more than RM137 million this year to strengthen early prevention efforts against non-communicable diseases (NCDs), following rising complications linked to diabetes and heart disease.
Health Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Dzulkefly Ahmad said the allocation will be channelled through several initiatives involving health screening, treatment and healthy nutrition advocacy.
He said RM10 million has been allocated for the National Health Screening Initiative (NHSI) to expand early risk screening among individuals aged 18 and above.
In addition, RM80 million has been set aside for the PeKa B40 programme, which provides free health screening for low-income groups.
“Meanwhile, RM1.7 million has been allocated for the War on Sugar initiative, a campaign aimed at reducing excessive sugar consumption,” he said during the Dewan Rakyat oral question session today.
He was responding to a question from Chong Zhemin (PH-Kampar) regarding the preparedness of government hospitals in facing rising NCD cases and prevention allocations.
Dzulkefly added that RM45.4 million has also been allocated to expand access to SGLT2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) for diabetes treatment.
He said the medication helps reduce the risk of complications such as chronic kidney disease and heart failure, while lowering hospital admissions and long-term treatment costs.
He noted that the economic burden of NCDs in Malaysia is estimated at RM64.2 billion, including RM12.4 billion in healthcare costs and RM51.8 billion in indirect costs such as productivity loss and premature deaths.
As of last year, 1.8 million individuals had undergone NHSI screening, with 17.9 per cent found to have high blood pressure and nine per cent with high blood sugar levels.
-wilayah.com.my
