SIBU: The state Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Ministry is targeting to register 100,000 people for the Senior Citizen Health Benefit (SCHB) initiative by year end.
Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said 75,577 people have been registered under the programme's first phase.
She said the state government had allocated RM50 million for it this year.
"Under the SCHB initiative, senior citizens with a household income of RM7,000 and below per month are entitled to receive assistance for cashless outpatient treatment at panel clinics with a maximum limit of RM500 per person per year," she said at the Sarawak Women's Day event here.
Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg earlier launched the SCHB initiative in conjunction with the Sarawak Women's Day celebration.
Fatimah said that among the criteria for the SCHB initiative include that the person must be a Malaysian citizen with the letter "K" on MyKad, aged 60 years and above and have a monthly household income of RM7,000 and below.
She said SCHB applicants would not receive any form of protection for outpatient treatment from any agency.
On another matter, she added that the Sarawak Social Wellbeing Index (SSWI) had increased from 6.21 points in 2019 to 7.18 last year.
She said this was the result of the state government's policy to empower and prosper women, guided by the pillars of social inclusion in the Post-Covid-19 Development Strategy 2023 (PCDS 2030).
"We are confident that all forms of social innovation through various initiatives of the Sarawak government have been able to increase the household income of poor families and bring them out of poverty," she added.
Fatimah said her ministry was confident of reducing the number of the hardcore poor within the e-Kasih data, which stands at 30,346 as of July 31, by improving their household income.
She said she hoped that Abang Johari would continue to set aside the women's empowerment capital grant of RM2.30 million next year, adding it had benefited 1,274 women entrepreneurs and generated an overall income of RM757,270, last year.