No breast cancer screening invitation for Brussels women due to lack of government
No women in Brussels have yet been invited for a mammogram in 2025, the magazines Medi-Sphere and Le Spécialiste report. In the absence of a new Brussels government, funding for the breast cancer screening programme has been temporarily frozen.
Ten months after the elections, the political vacuum in Brussels is starting to have an impact on public health. The organisation Bruprev, which is responsible for the coordination of screening campaigns in Brussels, has not been able to send any invitations in the first quarter of 2025.
Normally, Brussels women aged between 50 and 69 should receive an invitation for a mammogram every two years.
"It's frustrating that more than three months have already been lost due to political procrastination"
Julie Soens, a radiologist at the Brussels Clinic Saint-Jean, denounced the situation. "The aim of the screenings every two years is to detect the smallest possible lesions at an early stage, so it's frustrating that more than three months have already been lost due to political procrastination," she said. She called on politicians to act.
Minority option
Because the PS does not want to govern with N-VA and Open VLD does not want to govern without N-VA, the government formation is deadlocked after more than 300 days. MR leader Georges-Louis Bouchez is working on the option of a minority government: a cabinet that does not have a majority in parliament.
That proposed minority government would most likely consist of MR, Les Engagés, Groen, N-VA, Open VLD and Vooruit. However, the solution still requires outside support, and the French-speaking parties PS, Ecolo and Défi are currently unwilling to offer that.
Illustration © PHOTO AMELIE-BENOIST / IMAGE POINT FR / BSIP VIA AFP
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