Govt to establish central monitoring system to ensure quality of medicine

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has decided to establish a central monitoring system using pioneering technology and update the research on the quantity and quality of ingredients in medicines.

The decision, along with other policies to make high-quality medication available in the Maldives, was made during a cabinet meeting on Sunday, following deliberations on a paper submitted by the Health Ministry.

According to the President’s Office, the cabinet discussed and decided to extend the 'bulk procurement' approach for obtaining essential pharmaceuticals.

It was also decided that under the new system, the State Trading Organization (STO), the company tasked with providing essential medications without government interference, would ensure the continuous availability of these medicines from all healthcare hospitals, centers, and pharmacies established in all inhabited islands.

President Muizzu also resolved to set up warehouses to store drugs meeting the system's mandated requirements, establish a central monitoring system using pioneering technology and update the research on the quantity and quality of the ingredients in medicines.

The cabinet also decided to improve and expand human resources, and increase the capacity to assure and maintain pharmaceutical quality.

President Muizzu had recently announced plans to import medicine straight from manufactures. Speaking to reports after a trip to China in January, he said that the plan was already in motion, and that it would end dependency on a single country for import of medicine.

Sunday’s cabinet decision comes after the Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA) recently ordered the recall of Panadol, the most common paid medicine in the Maldives, as it runs tests amid quality concerns.