BEIRUT, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Health Minister Jamil Jabak said the number of cancer patients in Lebanon has increased by threefold in the past 15 years due to pollution, local media reported Friday.
"We hope that officials work hard on reducing the risks of getting exposed to cancer by dealing properly with pollution," Jabak was quoted as saying by Elnashra, an online independent newspaper.
Jabak said that his ministry has decided to support the Children's Cancer Center directly by allocating more money for this purpose in the 2019 state budget.
"We will allocate a higher amount in the 2020 state budget," he said.
The most common reasons for cancers in Lebanon are air pollution, waste burning, and water contamination.
The World Health Organization estimated that over 17,000 new cancer cases were discovered in Lebanon in 2018.
