Kathmandu, October 29
Now the government will provide cancer treatment to children under 14 for free of cost in the designated public hospitals.
As per the decision made by Minister for Health and Population, Pradip Paudel, on Sunday, the facility could be received from Kanti Children Hospital, Kathmandu; Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital, Bhaktapur; and BP Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital, Bharatpur, Chitwan.
The decision, to be effective from November 16 this year, is expected to relieve the financial burden of the parents of cancer-suffering children. According to the Ministry, this initiative is one of the top priorities outlined by Minister Paudel as soon as he assumed office.
Ministry Spokesperson Dr Prakash Budhathoki shared that if the government’s amount for the treatment is insufficient, the Ministry will make arrangements for additional funding from its internal sources.
According to the statistics of the Ministry’s Division of Epidemiology and Disease Control Division, 71 per cent of deaths in Nepal are attributed to non-communicable diseases, with cancer accounting for 11 per cent of those deaths.
The country recorded 22,000 new cancer patients in 2022. Among them 14,000 died due to cancer, the statistics revealed. Every year around 1,500 children are diagnosed with cancer, according to the Ministry.
