Life is full of cruel contradictions. At the far end of De Paule Avenue, the road just in front of San Anton Palace, there is a Community Chest Fund (CCF) poster urging people to contribute €1 a month for a fund that finances chemotherapy and specialised treatment.
Had Malta been in a dire financial situation, the call for donations would have made sense. But when the country is doing so well, the poster reflects badly on the country’s sense of values and priorities, more so when there is so much unnecessary spending, in various forms, the country can well do without.
Does the call in the poster mean the government is unable to fund chemotherapy to the extent that to meet all the patients’ needs it has to rely on public donations? If this is not a correct reading of the call, the health authorities would need to explain what the situation is exactly. We’re not talking here about cosmetic surgery, but about chemotherapy and specialised treatment that could save or extend life.
Why is the CCF raising money to fund chemotherapy? The money it spends every month (€250,000) for this and for (unspecified) specialised treatment amounts to €3 million annually, a sum that, in today’s circumstances, is not beyond what the island can afford.
Finance Minister Edward Scicluna has been reported saying there is nothing wrong in donating money. Indeed, there isn’t, but should one transmit a message that treatment to cancer patients is partly dependent on donations? This is not addressed at the CCF, because what it is doing is noble, but it raises questions about the country’s sense of priorities and values.
Not a moment too soon, it looks as if the government is now set to tackle the issue. Health Parliamentary Secretary Chris Fearne has just announced they are working to make expensive medication, which cancer patients require, more readily available. This is good news and, if it is done, will help heal a festering wound.
Maltese charities do admirable work but there is a limit to what they can achieve. National health services practically everywhere have financial operational restrictions. In Britain, for instance, the NHS has just sparked a huge controversy after it announced it plans to stop funding 25 treatments for cancer, including those for breast, prostate and bowel disease.
The problem over what to fund opens up a multitude of issues, such as that over the sustainability of the health service. This is a matter that needs serious attention but politicians generally run away from it for fear of losing votes. As to the more urgent matter of treating cancer patients or funding specialised treatment, charities, including the CCF, will continue to play a vital role in helping make the lives of those suffering disease easier.
However, in a situation where the economic conditions are favourable, the State ought to show greater understanding when it comes to funding treatment.
Reginald Fava, the retail pharmaceutical businessman, was right when he said the other day the country had turned the country’s President into a beggar, raising money for medicines essential to cure the sick.
Opening a new oncology centre is a step forward but of even greater importance is the official undertaking that the way forward is funding cure for cancer, not just contending with high survival rates. If the government manages to do this, it will set thecountry’s priorities right.