Starting this year, the Selangor government’s Bantuan Sihat Selangor initiative will cover those needing cancer treatment and physiotherapy. State Health, Welfare, Women Empower-ment and Family Committee chairman Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud said the initiative that first started in 2009, incorporated medical-related assistance to those living in the state with a total household income of RM3,000 and below.
Only 47.3% of women in the country, she said, undergo pap smear checks based on the National Health and Morbidity Survey in 2006.
“The Health Ministry reported that each year about 3,000 new cases of cervical cancer are admitted to hospitals. Cervical cancer is also the third highest cancer among women in our country based on the National Cancer Registry Report in 2015.
“I urge women, especially those above 50, to go for pap smear checks. Please do not feel embarrassed as early detection saves lives,” she said during the launch of Karnival 3W (Women, Welfare, Wellness) at the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) headquarters.
Karnival 3W is an empowerment programme for women. It will take place at 11 more local councils in the state throughout the year. Dr Siti Mariah added that kidney dialysis treatment was also covered under the scheme at 20 panel clinics.
“The state government has allocated about RM1.5mil each year and each patient can receive dialysis treatment costing up to RM5,000 a year,” she added.
At the event launch, cancer survivor Shazleen Elneesha Saiful Azmi, 17, moved the crowd to tears when she recited a poem on her struggles while battling the disease. The bone cancer survivor, despite being a leg amputee, represented Selangor in archery and won gold in the Malaysia Para Games.
In 2017, the Peduli Sihat scheme was started to help Selangor residents with basic medical treatment. A sum of RM500 is available to low-income families and RM250 to individuals for basic medical assistance from registered clinics.
The scheme benefited about 330,000 households comprising about one million residents who received treatment at 1,000 registered clinics.
Later in his speech, Amirudin said Selangor is the first in the country to have 30% women representatives in the state executive lineup.
“With greater female representation, we will be able to understand issues related to women better. The state has implemented several programmes for women such as the Kasih Ibu Smart Selangor. This year, we will have a work from home initiative as we want to give women a chance to balance family life and have a means of gaining financial security,” he said.
On the investment front, Amiruddin said Selangor managed to attract RM10bil.
“In 2017, Selangor attracted RM5.29bil worth of investments and this has doubled up to October last year,” he said.
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