Kurdistan lays foundation stone for largest cancer hospital amid rising treatment costs

Shafaq News/ Kurdish Minister of Health, Saman Barzanji, announced, on Wednesday, that the ministry is using approximately 250 types of medications to treat cancer patients, nearly half of which are chemotherapy drugs.

He expressed concern about the high cost of these medications and the medical services provided in this field.

Barzanji made these remarks during the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the largest cancer treatment hospital in Erbil, attended by the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani.

In his speech, the minister stated, "Annually, 19 million new cancer cases are recorded worldwide." He added that the Kurdistan Region has initiated significant and strategic projects over the past five years focused on cancer patients.

He also mentioned that several other projects are in the pipeline, noting, "Fortunately, cancer cases in the Kurdistan Region remain within average levels."

Barzanji highlighted that the Kurdistan Region has several cancer treatment centers in Erbil, al-Sulaymaniyah, and Duhok, emphasizing that "providing services to cancer patients is a highly challenging and costly task, especially since 40% of patients seeking treatment come from outside the Region, visiting Kurdistan for chemotherapy, surgeries, diagnostic tests, and laser treatments."

He further noted, "We are using 250 types of cancer medications, with around 120 being chemotherapy drugs, which are extremely expensive." He stressed that "the cost of providing these treatments, whether in private or public healthcare facilities, largely falls on the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which covers 90% of these treatments."

The health minister also revealed that over the past four years, more than 285 billion IQD have been allocated for cancer medications and medical supplies in the Region, calling on the federal government to pay greater attention to the Kurdistan Region's needs in this area.