The Centre for Mental Health at Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) has significantly shortened its waiting list to 300 patients.
Speaking to PSM News, Minister at the President's Office Ali Shiyam said the government has been expanding mental health care after it found that a large number of Maldivians have been seeking treatment since the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the current administration was the only one to prioritise mental health and that numerous developments have been made since the pandemic.
As such, Minister Shiyam said the waiting list at the IGMH mental health centre has been reduced from 5,000 to 300 patients. He noted that more Maldivians are recognising the importance of mental health treatment and that a nine-bed mental health ward has been opened at IGMH. He also highlighted the development of mental health centres in Addu City and the atolls, adding that the Gan Regional Hospital is providing online consultations for mental health patients.
The prevalence of mental illnesses is increasing in the Maldives and the government has been working to provide mental health treatment. As part of the efforts, IGMH opened the Centre for Mental Health in 2019 and opened a mental health ward to facilitate the admission of mental health patients in June 2022. The establishment of the Centre for Mental Health saw an increase in people seeking psychological treatment, with over 44,000 mental health patients recorded during 2019 compared to an annual average of 10,000-35,000 during previous years.