Thread by @boosulyn

I urge MPs across the aisle not to support #Budget2021 unless the govt substantially revises MOH's budget. The massive cuts to cancer and kidney disease treatment, in the midst of a pandemic, will severely affect Malaysians' health and survival outcomes.

https://twitter.com/boosulyn/status/1324737210294304769

New cancer cases have increased in Malaysia, according to 2012-2016 cancer report. More cases being detected in the late stage. Cancer deaths increased 30%. MCO has led to cancer surgery delay, which worsens outcomes. Ppl less likely to get screened for early detection too.

A 59% cut for radiotherapy and oncology in MOH's Budget 2021, including 10x reduction for cancer treatment from RM217mil - RM21 mil, is quite horrifying. Bear in mind that with job losses/ pay cuts, the pandemic will turn even more Malaysians from private to public sector.

The huge 78% cut for nephrology is also inexplicable, given that worldwide, Malaysia has the second-highest incidence rate of kidney failure affecting young adults. It's not so simple to replace all hemodialysis with home treatment. Also, almost 1/5 Malaysian adults have diabetes

Next year is not the time to cut curative care. People will be even less healthy amid Covid. Nearly all MOH health care services suffered budget cuts for 2021, including some massive ones:
- nephrology (-78%)
- pharmacy and supplies (-74%)
- cardiothoracic (-67%)
- cancer (-59%)

It's ironic that advocates had called for a bigger MOH budget (some even unrealistically demanding RM60bil), but ended with one that cut health services and even public health. Budget 2021 focuses a lot on Covid vaccines, but cuts public health, which will hamper Covid control.

Public health is about protecting the health of the entire population, including responding to infectious disease outbreaks. Covid is Malaysia's biggest public health crisis ever. But govt cut MOH's 2021 public health budget by 12%, including disease control under it (-1%).

Getting Covid vaccine is one thing (of course we must allocate money for it). But a vaccine is not the silver bullet to the crisis. Managing Covid requires continuous disease control -- like contact tracing, isolation -- is all under public health. This will likely run into 2022.

Even if we get a small supply of Covid vaccine by Q1 2021 (very optimistic, imo), that won't fundamentally change anything because we'll still have to continue public health measures like testing, isolation, SOPs, pending mass immunisation of entire population, likely only 2022.

Govt should have allocated MOH money for public education/ preventive health measures in Budget 2021 so Malaysians, with low health literacy, are prepared to live New Norms for the next one year. Announcing police arrests daily over SOPs is unsustainable and only angers people.

Unfortunately, the PH govt abolished MySihat, a health promotion body, in Dec 2019, before the pandemic struck, and also drained the health promotion budget. We now face the consequences of a health illiterate society that doesn't understand Covid SOPs or other health matters.

There is blame to be laid on BN/ PH/ PN on the management of Malaysia's health care system. But now is the time for bipartisan backbencher MPs to work together and demand substantive changes to MOH budget, or risk another major health crisis hitting the country, on top of Covid.

CodeBlue's Budget 2021 stories that focus exclusively on health can be found in this thread. More Budget stories will come out next week. Stay tuned! :)

#Belanjawan2021 #Budget2021

https://twitter.com/codebluenews/status/1324684399212814337