PESHAWAR: The cancer patients hailing from Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) have been developing more complications which lead to their deaths from the curable form of cancer due to non-availability of free treatment, according to sources.

The provincial health department has launched free cancer treatment programme at the government hospitals to enable 90 per cent of the persons, who can’t afford expensive diagnosis and medication.

The government released an amount of Rs500 million to the health institutions in July 2014 for treatment of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-domiciled patients due to which doctors refused the facility to Fata people.

About 1,000 beneficiaries of the programme have been getting free treatment at the designated health facilities.

These facilities received 25 per cent of the total cancer patients from Fata who were not entitled to free treatment from the funds allocated for the residents of the province only, sources said.

The only option the Fata patients have is to approach Baitul Maal and Zakat departments to get an amount too little to bear cost of cancer treatment.

Per patient cost of the treatment is between Rs1.5 million to Rs3 million which can only be paid from the free cancer programme as it offers complete treatment.

KP asks federal govt to allocate funds for tribal patients

The amount provided to a single Fata patient by Baitul Maal or Zakat department is less than Rs20, 000. The amount is not readily available but the departments concerned carry out their own investigations to determine if the patients deserves to be allocated the money.

A patient requires about Rs50,000 to Rs120,000 every month to continue treatment. About 90 per cent patients from Fata discontinue their treatment due to lack of money, according to doctors.

The health department has also send letters to federal government for allocation of funds for Fata patients but to no avail. As a result patients continue to suffer.

On the other hand, patients from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa get free diagnostic and treatment services at the same facilities, on first come first serve basis.

Many patients from Fata develop serious complications for lack of proper treatment because they can’t pay high cost of the treatment. They also fail to continue treatment for three consecutive years, which deteriorates their condition.

“The provincial government may include Fata patients in the programme if the federal government allocates amount for them,” officials said.

According to them, the health facilities in the province have already been shrunken as 20 per cent patients, who visit outpatients departments or got hospitalised, live in Fata.

Therefore, the government argued that the federal government should allocate amount for treatment of Fata people, they said.

In November, many doctors pointed out to the provincial government to allow extension of free facilities to Fata patients but the latter wasn’t willing, according to sources.

The oncologists, who receive patients for free services at the hospitals, say that the treatment not only ensures 90 per cent success cure rate but also enhances life standard of the patients. The free treatment will prolong their lives, they say.

Officials say that health department will allocate more amount for free treatment programme next year to benefit more people in the province. Inclusion of tribal people in the free cancer programme is subject to availability of funds from the federal government, which rules Fata, they say.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2015

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