State Trading Organisation (STO) has completed the sourcing of essential medicine, the company announced Saturday.
The government has recognised that expenditures on pharmaceuticals constitute one of the largest and most wasteful costs within the healthcare system. The national insurance system, managed by Aasandha Company Limited, reports that over half of its expenses are related to the importation of medicines, a figure that continues to rise annually.
In response, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has mandated measures to prevent the sale of imported medicines at exorbitant profits.
The government has also tasked STO, the largest wholesaler of pharmaceuticals in the country, to expand its supply to all prescription drugs on the national list of essential medicines.
STO said the sourcing of most medicine on the list has now been completed and efforts are now underway to supply medicines throughout the country.
The company said the fresh supply would also ease the present shortage in essential medicines in the country, adding that it would ensure continuous supply to prevent such shortages in the future.
Under the advice of health institutions and health care professionals, STO said it will continue to identify the most important and required medicines for the Maldives, in addition to the medicines on the essentials list. The company assured that it will put in every effort to ensure sustainable and uninterrupted availability of these medicines in the Maldives.
It also revealed efforts to source medicines of every generic of medicines on the list of approved prescription drugs of the Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA) as directed by President Dr Muizzu.