Mammogram, HPV vaccination subsidy programme to continue

KUALA LUMPUR: The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry will maintain the subsidy programme for mammograms and human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccines, even though there is no special allocation for it in Budget 2018.
Deputy Minister Datuk Azizah Mohd Dun told the Dewan Rakyat today that the programme to detect breast cancer and cervical cancer particularly benefitted women in the B40 group who made up 80% of the recipients.
"We will use available funds and apply again to the Ministry of Finance; we are confident it will be continued as the Barisan Nasional government is concerned for women and the Ministry of Health also has the programme," she said.
She was responding to a supplementary question from Sim Chee Keong (DAP-Bukit Mertajam) who wanted to know whether the government would continue to subsidise the mammogram and HPV vaccine programme considering that there was no allocation for it.
Azizah said from 2013 till this year, the ministry spent RM41.167 million on mammogram subsidy, which benefited 225,828 women nationwide.
"For HPV vaccination, RM42,638 million was spent from 2013 till this year and about 265,830 women benefited," she said.
To a supplementary question from Datuk Dr Noraini Ahmad (BN-Parit Sulong) on the effectiveness of the mammogram programme, Azizah said out of 329,349 women who underwent the test, 532 were diagnosed with breast cancer. — Bernama