The Government of the Maldives has allocated funds in the proposed state budget for 2022 to upgrade 60 hospitals.
Presenting the State Budget 2022 to the Parliament of the Maldives, Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer said the government aims to provide better health care to citizens. He said the government will also be continuing its efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the country. The government has also allocated funds to provide vaccines to children and provide non-stop services at COVID-19 facilities.
Furthermore, Minister Ameer said the government has allocated funds to the ongoing work to develop tertiary hospitals in five regions. He said the funds allocated for the health sector will be used to develop infrastructure and expand services in the hospitals and health centres across the country.
The proposed state budget also includes funds to be allocated to cover health care expenditure. This includes USD 142 million for salaries of health workers and USD 71 million for consumables.
Additionally, USD 21 million has been allocated for COVID-19 recovery efforts, and USD 29 million to add patient slots in hospitals and health centres. The proposed state budget has also included funds to hire new health workers, including 160 doctors and over 200 nurses.