Health Ministry preps to start medical specialization in Primary Healthcare

Ministry of Health has commenced preparations to offer medical specialization in Maldives for medical students.

Speaking with Sun on Wednesday, the Senior Executive Director of the ministry Aminath Shathufa Shafeeu said that opportunity to specialize will be first offered for Primary Healthcare.

“We need a way to train (students) when launching Primary Healthcare. If it can be done permanently in Maldives, that would be easier.”

Minister of Health Ahmed Naseem had said in April last year that a new project in Primary Healthcare was in the works.

He said that Primary Healthcare is taking healthcare workers to the frontline, expanding the role of other health professionals, working as a team at the island level to provide services, and focusing more on the prevention of diseases.

In December last year, an agreement was signed with Cuba to bring healthcare workers to Maldives.

Shathufa said that under this agreement, 16 Cuban doctors were currently working across the Maldives in atoll hospitals.

Maldives started teaching MBBS with the National University of Malaysia in 2018.