PETALING JAYA, Nov 12 — The government is committed to providing healthcare for low-income households (B40), with the focus being on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as the country is set to emerge as an ageing nation by 2040.
Deputy Health Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye said the NCDs were expected to represent 73 per cent of mortality among Malaysians by then.
“The main NCDs are cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, obesity and cancer… when you have more population in the elderly age group,” he said at a press conference after launching the 1st Cambridge-Royal Papworth-Sunway Heart and Lung Symposium, here, today.
The testament for the ministry’s commitment for the B40 group is the introduction of the RM100 million Health Protection Scheme (PEKA) for 800,000 individuals in B40 households, announced recently in Budget 2019.
Also present at the event was Sunway Group chairman and founder, Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah.
Meanwhile, Cheah said the two-day symposium from November 12 to 13 was a platform to support extensive knowledge exchange among fellow medical practitioners. — Bernama
