By Teodoro B. Padilla
With more patients in need of help to access treatments, advocates welcome the recent announcement of the Department of Health (DoH) that it would allocate at least a P700-million annual budget to the cancer assistance fund. During the “Cancer Conversations: From Policy to Meaningful Action” webinar held in partnership with the
BusinessWorld, Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III reaffirmed the government’s commitment to implement the National Integrated Cancer Control Act (NICCA).
“Historically, the budget trend for the cancer control program has been fluctuating and frankly, insufficient. By having NICCA in place and indicated in the draft Administrative Order on Cancer Assistance Fund, the annual budget for the Cancer Supportive Care and Palliative Care Medicines Access Program will now be at least 700 million pesos. This will allow us to cover more priority cancer types and allow us to give larger numbers of patients in minimizing, if no