(AP) MBABANE, Swaziland — Swaziland's health minister says the government has run out of money to send its cancer patients to better equipped clinics and hospitals in neighboring South Africa.
Swaziland is in economic crisis linked to a drop in customs revenues amid a worldwide recession. Speaking to parliament earlier this week, Health Minister Benedict Xaba said the government's Phalala Fund, used to pay for patients to be treated in South Africa, has been exhausted. He has urged patients to trust doctors in Swaziland.
Speaking on state radio Thursday, Xaba said while some patients can be treated at home, "in many cases patients want to be referred to South Africa."
But Nomsa Msibi, president of the Cancer Association of Swaziland, says it is a lack of facilities that forces Swazis to South Africa.
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