Parliament allocates $50 million for Ministry of Public Health

Parliament has approved a law allocating an additional $50 million for the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) in order to cover several years of deficit that was incurred by subsidizing medication for chronic diseases.

The ministry subsidizes the cost of medication for chronic illnesses and cancer for around $7 million per year, according to Bahij Arbid, Advisor to the MoPH.

The MoPH is working for the medical assistant program with YMCA to provide medication to chronically ill patients. YMCA, a non-profit organization, has offered 63 different medicines free of charge since 1988 through a network of 451 dispensaries.

Around 26,000 cancer and chronic disease patients have benefited from the ministry’s support so far.