Ministry of Health has revealed that a 50-bed cancer hospital is being built in Gan, Laamu Atoll.
Speaking to PSM News, State Minister for Health Ahmed Adil said the cancer hospital will be connected to the tertiary hospital being built in Gan, and that the tertiary hospital will also provide cancer treatment. The state minister said the hospital management will consist of foreign doctors who will be later replaced by Maldivian doctors once they receive the necessary training. He said a national training programme has been planned for the doctors and that the training will take years, while the construction of the hospital will be completed within two years.
USD6 million has been allocated in the state budget for the hospital, which is being built with financial assistance from the Government of India. The government initially planned to develop the cancer hospital in Hulhumale’ but later requested India to change the location to Gan. A special team had arrived in the Maldives to conduct a detailed project review for the development of the hospital.
Around 17% of deaths from non-communicable diseases in the Maldives are from cancer. As such, most individuals who receive treatment abroad using the national health insurance scheme, Aasandha, are cancer patients. A total of 762 individuals received cancer treatment abroad so far this year, and USD7.5 million has been spent on cancer treatment.