Materia Medica Malaysiana

Guidelines on aid for NGOs

KUALA LUMPUR: The authenticity of NGO health-related activities and the financial background of these organisations will be checked before they qualify for financial assistance under the new Health Ministry guidelines next month.

Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said there were no guidelines at the moment to monitor aid given to NGOs for such activities, which mainly dealt with providing treatment at haemodialysis centres.

“NGOs are also not required to reveal their accounts prior to their applications and the guidelines will allow our officers to check their financial standing.

“Under the guidelines, officers will go down to the ground to check if the NGOs’ activities are genuine,” he said at a press conference after a cheque presentation to underprivileged children organised under the Munchy’s Make Me Well Charity Campaign here yesterday.

Dr Chua said that last year the ministry gave out RM20.2mil to NGOs, of which RM17mil were for treatment subsidies for haemodialysis patients at 68 NGO centres.

From the remaining amount, RM2mil was paid out as matching grants for eight new haemodialysis centres and the rest shared by 13 other NGOs.

Dr Chua said this meant that NGOs had to rely on fund-raising campaigns or private donations, adding that the private sector should exercise their social responsibility to help them.

Dr Chua said he was confident the guidelines would allow aid to be given out within three months of receiving aid applications from NGOs.

“Previously, financial assistance was given out on an ad hoc or case-by-case basis.”

Dr Chua said although there was no limit to the assistance given to NGOs, the government’s “ringgit for ringgit” matching grant for haemodialysis centres was capped at RM380,000.

Earlier, Dr Chua handed out RM100,000 raised under the campaign for nine disabled centres and two children requiring funds for immediate heart and bone marrow surgery.

Five-month-old Paul Prevaiz Gill and Norshafika Izzat Zakaria were the recipients.