Govt to setup separate budget account:

Funds for cancer, kidney patients

Nadira Gunatilleke

The Government will allocate money under a separate expenditure account in the Budget for treatment of cancer and kidney patients. The Health Ministry spends around Rs.9.1 million for one cancer patient. There are 20,000 cancer patients in the country, a Health Ministry spokesman said.

According to the spokesman Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena took this decision considering the requirement of additional funds to take care of cancer and kidney patients. Drugs cost between Rs 80,000 and Rs 350,000 for the treatment offered to cancer patients by Maharagama Cancer Hospital and other state hospitals.

The Health Ministry spends Rs 3,500 million per year to treat kidney patients and there are around 30,000 kidney patients in the country. The annual health budget of the Ministry is around Rs 74 billion. But only Rs 6 billion left for everything when funds are allocated to pay salaries (Rs.54 billion) and purchase drugs (Rs 14 billion), he said.

Minister Sirisena confirmed that he will consult the President shortly and inform the requirement of additional funds for the treatment and drugs used for cancer and kidney patients.