Thalidomide victims to receive final compensation payment this week
Screening has begun for new applicants
Most thalidomide victims eligible for compensation will receive their third and final payment by the end of the week, the Inclusion Ministry said.
The payments form part of a government-approved compensation scheme for victims of the drug.
The ministry said the applicants will receive more than €300,000 between them.
The original call to compensate those who were born with disabilities due to the drug, worth a total of €3 million, was opened five years ago.
Screening has also begun for new applications filed after a second call was issued earlier this year for people who had not applied the first time round.
Applicants have permitted medical experts to access their records at Mater Dei Hospital, the ministry said.
The records will be used to assess whether their conditions were caused by thalidomide.
Thalidomide was prescribed to pregnant women in the late 1950s and early 1960s to treat morning sickness. It was later found to cause serious birth defects.
It was developed by the German company Chemie Grünenthal (now Grünenthal GmbH) in the mid-1950s. Although its effects on babies were first highlighted in 1961, it remained available in Malta until 1968.
The ministry said the payments were being made within the scheme’s timeframe and formed part of the government’s efforts to address past injustices.