Over 1,600 complaints on Aasandha medicine availability hotline
President Muizzu has stated that some importers had previously sold medicines at profit margins as high as 1,000 to 2,000 percent.
A total of 1,673 complaints have been received through a special hotline established by Aasandha Company to address issues related to the availability of medicines under the national health insurance scheme.
The hotline was introduced in December to collect concerns from individuals with chronic and serious health conditions. The complaints focused on the lack of access to medicines previously covered under the scheme and the general unavailability of certain drugs.
Between 5 December and April, Aasandha recorded 1,673 complaints. According to the company’s response to a request for clarification, the breakdown is as follows:
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1,457 complaints were responded to.
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216 complaints were not pursued, as they did not relate to the complainants.
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189 complaints were resolved by providing information on pharmacies where the required medicines were available.
The unresolved complaints include cases involving medicines not covered under the Aasandha scheme, as well as medicines that are unavailable in the Maldives.
Aasandha noted that complaints submitted after patients had already purchased medicines on their own could not be addressed, as the scheme does not have a reimbursement policy. Patients were advised to consult Aasandha before making such purchases to determine coverage and availability.
The company also advised patients to report difficulties in accessing medicines that are not available locally, adding that efforts are ongoing to share information on such cases.
According to Aasandha, the State Trading Organisation (STO) is working to address the shortage of medicines by identifying essential and hard-to-find drugs and importing them into the Maldives. The company said that some private companies had stopped importing medicines following changes made under the revised Aasandha framework.
At a press conference held on 3 May, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu stated that some importers had previously sold medicines at profit margins as high as 1,000 to 2,000 percent. The President said some businesses had deliberately halted imports in response to the new regulations, contributing to the current shortage.
He added that the government is implementing measures to reduce the impact of the shortage, including:
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Importing all but 10 medicines from the basic drug list.
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Ensuring availability of these medicines at all STO outlets.
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Making 784 out of the 1,207 drugs on the approved list available through STO.
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Continuing efforts to import the remaining medicines.
