Children below 14 to get free cancer treatment

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Oct. 28: Minister for Health and Population Pradip Paudel has decided to provide free cancer treatment to children aged below 14 years. Making a ministerial-level decision on Sunday, Minister Paudel decided to provide cancer treatment services free of cost at three government hospitals- Kanti Children's Hospital Kathmandu, Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital, Bhaktapur, and BP Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital, Bharatpur, Chitwan.

According to Minister Paudel's secretariat, arrangements have been made to provide the treatment free of cost from November 16, 2024. The ministry has a policy of providing free cancer treatment based on the government's capacity. 

Minister Paudel took the initiative to make cancer treatment services free of cost for children after his appointment as the minister. 

According to the ministry, this arrangement is currently being implemented for children. In Nepal, 71 per cent of total deaths are attributed to non-communicable diseases. Of them, 11 per cent die due to cancer, according to data released by the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division under the Ministry.

In 2022, a total of 22,000 new cancer cases were reported in Nepal and more than 14,000 people lost their lives due to cancer. Around 1,500 children are diagnosed with cancer every year in Nepal. 

Minister Paudel said that he decided to make the treatment free of cost to save the lives of the children by providing timely treatment so that they do not face death due to lack of money for treatment.

Timely treatment can cure cancer among children, so the ministry has decided to make the treatment free of cost so that no one is deprived of testing and treatment, read a statement issued by the minister’s secretariat. Dr. Prakash Budhathoki, the Ministry's spokesperson, said that the government will provide treatment to every person by managing the medical expenses from the internal resources of the Ministry.