Health Minister Abdulla Ameen has stated that the challenges faced by the health sector is the result of the previous administration's negligence during the past five years.
Speaking at the parliament on Monday, Minister Ameen said the previous government changed 28 health institutes such that they catered their services 24/7 just ahead of the 2018 presidential election, although the facilities were not equipped to handle providing such a service.
"None of the places were provided with enough staff. No budget was allocated. Resources were not provided. When the facilities that provided services for 8 hours a day suddenly changed to 24 hours, how can they provide the service with just four nurses?" asked Ameen.
Ameen blamed the challenges faced by the Health Sector on the former administration's negligence. Due to the untimely upgrade, the current administration has been burdened with providing necessary resources to offer their services around the clock, said Ameen.
"The services offered by the health sector can only be improved with a vision for betterment. Having the financial capability and blindly spending money will not enhance services", said Ameen.
Opposition members showed their disapproval to Minister Ameen's answers, with some accusing the Minister of avoiding answering the questions asked by the lawmakers.
60% of health service centers provide poor services
Health Minister Ameen said the government will prioritize three areas in implementing health projects during the current year.
While the government will implement projects in the order specified in the National Budget, the government will prioritize achieving the presidential pledges of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. The government also aims to improve the services provided by some heath centers where adequate health services are not available, revealed Ameen.
The minister said some health service centers are in very poor condition in terms of infrastructure, human resources and equipment, with 60% out of 187 health service providers facing challenges in offering their services.
However, although there are challenges in implementing health projects due to the current year's budget constraints, he believes that many of the problems faced by the health sector can be resolved with the budget being proposed by the administration for next year, said Ameen.
"It costs around MVR 80 million to construct some hospitals. However, this year's budget allocated MVR 1 million, 4 million for these projects. Therefore, we target to begin some of these projects during the last quarter of the year", said Ameen.
Minster Ameen said the administration's vision to develop the health sector will become clear from next year's budget. He affirmed that the current government would bring about positive changes to the health sector.
