Aasandha calls medicine shortage national issue; urges review
Zeeniya also said many medicines listed under the approved drug list are not imported.
Top Stories
Aminath Zeeniya has said the shortage of medicines in the Maldives requires a national-level review to identify causes and develop a solution.
She made the remarks during a meeting of the Parliament SOE Committee Maldives, which convened to examine issues related to obtaining medicines from abroad. The matter was submitted by Mohamed Ibrahim.
Representatives from Aasandha Company Limited, State Trading Organisation, National Social Protection Agency and the state pharmaceutical company attended the session.
Zeeniya said the public faces difficulties in accessing medicines covered under the Aasandha scheme, adding that the programme allocates a large share of its expenditure to pharmacies.
“I acknowledge that people are unable to obtain medicines. We regularly receive such complaints,” she said.
She identified several issues affecting supply. These include the absence of checks to confirm whether pharmacies stock medicines listed as essential at the time of registration. She said licences are issued by the Maldives Food and Drug Authority without such verification, limiting enforcement.
Zeeniya also said many medicines listed under the approved drug list are not imported. She noted the absence of a system to track import volumes and said that some medicines are brought in based on individual prescriptions, resulting in changes in available brands.
She said complaints have been received regarding the supply of medicines under the scheme, including cases where pricing differs from the product dispensed. She added that there is no price control mechanism.
Zeeniya said there are about 800 to 900 pharmacies registered to dispense medicines under Aasandha, covering more than 3,000 medicines, yet access issues persist.
She said action will be taken against pharmacies that display Aasandha branding but do not dispense medicines under the scheme.
At the meeting, Shah Mahir said the absence of real-time data on stock levels contributes to supply gaps.
He said plans are in place to integrate STO pharmacies under the state pharmaceutical company from July, which will allow stock data to be made available.
“We do not have information on current stock levels. Without that, we cannot plan. A solution will be found,” he said.
Fatimat Limya said pharmacies can only maintain stock when supply is available, noting challenges in importing medicines.
She said STO sources medicines from manufacturers, distributors and local suppliers.
According to Limya, about 5,000 medicines are approved for import, while around 1,300 are currently registered and imported. She added that 62 parties hold licences to import medicines into the country.
