President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has approved his cabinet’s recommendation to form a separate institution under the name Maldives Health Services.
The Maldives Health Services would be tasked with improving primary healthcare, catering to the country’s public health requirements under a decentralised setup, developing human resources, and training technical staff in the health sector.
The government has been working to develop the country’s health sector by expanding services and treatment in the atolls in order to alleviate the burden on health services in the Greater Male’. As such, the government has been developing regional hospitals and introducing previously unavailable treatment and health services in the atolls.
Moreover, Minister of Health Ahmed Naseem has said that the government is preparing to revolutionize the primary healthcare system with the support from World Health Organisation (WHO) to survey and collect data on the causes of various illnesses and diseases such as cancer in the Maldives, in order to increase public awareness on health risks and improve overall health.
Primary healthcare was previously prioritised in the Maldives but fundamental changes in lifestyle and developments in the healthcare system have resulted in more curative healthcare.