President Introduces Reforms to Aasandha System to Ensure Uninterrupted Medicine Access

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has introduced significant reforms to the Aasandha system to prevent financial difficulties and medicine shortages when accessing prescribed medications. The decision, made upon the Cabinet's recommendation, follows discussions on a proposal submitted by the Ministry of Health during last Sunday’s Cabinet meeting.

The newly introduced provisions aim to streamline medicine distribution, enhance accessibility, and ensure efficiency in the procurement process. Key measures include:

Establishing a mechanism to register all prescribed medicines under Aasandha.

Finalizing treatment guidelines to standardize medical care.

Granting doctors access to a new dashboard, currently under development, to view available medicines through the State Trading Organisation (STO).

Ensuring uninterrupted availability of all approved medicines in STO pharmacies.

Enabling STO to obtain necessary permissions to import medicines through foreign hospitals empanelled by Aasandha, in line with Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA) policies. A long-term solution will be implemented to source medicines directly from manufacturers.

Setting up four GP clinics in Malé with guaranteed medicine access through STO pharmacies, while a similar system will be established in all islands and regional hospitals to ensure medicines are provided solely through Aasandha.

Expanding the role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in assisting with medicine imports.

Addressing service delivery issues and ensuring prompt resolution of concerns related to Aasandha through the Ministry of Health.

Allowing inpatients to access medications directly from hospitals via STO.

Implementing a digital system under MFDA to trace all imported medicines, enabling patients to track their availability and location through prescriptions.

As highlighted in his Presidential Address, President Muizzu affirmed that these measures will ensure the public does not face financial hardship or difficulties in obtaining essential medicines through Aasandha.