A woman with Cystic Fibrosis has urged authorities to import life-saving medication to Malta to help with her, as well as others who also suffer from the condition on the island.

26 year-old Mandy Vella took to Facebook to explain her situation and tagged his Excellency President George Vella, Prime Minister Robert Abela and Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Chris Fearne amongst other authorities to bring attention to the neglect of Cystic Fibrosis treatment in Malta.

“My life is being stamped with a price, the doors of the authorities are all closed. My wish for the only medicine that can save my life and the lives of all those Maltese who suffer from Cystic Fibrosis are being ignored”, she writes.

Vella first brought up the lack of Cystic Fibrosis medication in Malta back in 2018, when she insisted that the medication be imported and supplied by health authorities once it was approved by the European Union (EU). Two years later, in August 2020, the medication was approved by both the EU and the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. To this day, however, the medication has not made its way to Malta.

On 26^th November, Vella met up with PM Robert Abela and said that her and her family were unable to afford the medication she needed. She was reassured that she would swiftly receive an answer to her plea.

Vella never received this answer and was kept waiting at the expense of her deteriorating health.

She approached the PM a second time. “I made contact once again with the Prime Minister and he sent me to get the help of the Malta Community Chest Fund – I went, applied and my appeal was discussed. On Tuesday, 19^th January 2021 I received a response, where they told me that the medicine is of a substantial price and because it is a long-lasting medicine it needs to be written down on the government form. They also told me that His Excellency the President of Malta is also writing a letter to the Prime Minister”.

To this day, she has not received an update on her plea and is still waiting for the medication to arrive in Malta.

“I feel I am being abused mentally and emotionally by the authorities, and also the more I wait for a response, the more harm is being done to my health. Every day my heart is broken waiting to see if I will hear a positive response. What is truly going on here? I want a response before it is too late. Who is defending us? Who is speaking up for me and my family members?” she writes.

Vella hopes that her Facebook post will not fall on deaf ears, and will make both the authorities and the general public aware of the desperate situation she and those who suffer from cystic fibrosis are currently facing.

“This is the reality that I am currently living in. It is up to you if I deserve to live”, she writes.