BOLIVIA

On August 22, the Bolivian Senate passed the Cancer Law which guarantees universal and comprehensive access for people with cancer, through promotion, prevention, early detection, treatment, palliative care and the provision of epidemiological surveillance services according to the existing funding under the Unified Health System. The law was sent to the Executive Branch for enactment and publication in the Official Gazette.

The law establishes that public, private, and social security health institutions must comply with the standards and protocols set for cancer patient care. In addition, equipment and infrastructure for adequate care must be improved. Moreover, the law envisages including intersectoral and transdisciplinary actions to be introduced in a progressive and gradual manner, according to the patient’s epidemiological profile.

Furthermore, the law creates the National Cancer Commission in order to develop proposals and implement policies aimed at education, prevention and early detection, so as to provide timely treatment and palliative care according to the needs of the population. The Ministry of Health will be in charge of leading this Commission and it will be made up of a representative from each instance related to cancer. At the same time, the Ministry will implement the epidemiological surveillance system and the National Cancer Registry, to systematically gather information related to this disease.