State incur MVR 30 mil on IVF treatment

National Social Protection Agency (NSPA) CEO Heena Waleed on Tuesday said, the government will spend MVR 30 million to facilitate in-vitro fertilization (IVF) for the public.

While speaking in a PSM program, Heena said the budget is the total expenditure for IVF through Aasandha - the state initiated health insurance scheme - for a total of 100 individuals.

NSPA CEO said the expenditure on IVF varies depending on the individuals. She said that while some individuals succeed within the first cycle, others may take longer and observe IVF success during the second or third cycle.

She said that the expenditure for the treatment will increase with each cycle.

"So, stating how much each individual will incur for the treatment is difficult, so we are setting a budget to finance up to three cycles," Heena said.

A total of 37 individuals were selected as eligible out of the 153 applicants during the first round of IVF treatment opened by the government.

Tree Top Hospital is the only institution to provide IVF treatment currently.

Facilitation of alternative fertilization options, especially IVF, is a key pledge of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu.