Heavy burden: NCDs put a strain on public healthcare.
PETALING JAYA: Experts have called on new Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa to look into the alarming rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the country as one of the main priority areas.
According to “The direct healthcare cost of non-communicable diseases in Malaysia” report released by the Health Ministry and the World Health Organisation (WHO) in August, Malaysia spent RM22.53bil to treat NCDs such as diabetes, cancer and heart diseases in 2017.
