President Mohamed Nasheed has today launched the “Primary Health Care Program” of Male City Council, which aims to facilitate immunization and other health services to children below five years of age.
In its first step the program will conduct a survey to determine the total number of children below five years of age living in capital Male’, Mayor Maizan Ali Manik said during the program launch at Vinares house in Machangoalhi district.
To inaugurate the program, President Nasheed visited that house and helped the children living there fill out primary health care forms.
City council officials are expected to visit every household in Male’ during the survey.
Speaking to the press, the President said the 11-seat council, which consists of nine ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) councillors, is now mandated with the important task of managing primary health care in Male’.
The primary health care program has not been “managed properly” in Male’, though the islands have been running the program successfully, he added.
Under the program, the council will be responsible for recording children’s height, weight, and other health indicators, the President observed.
Mayor Manik reiterated the importance of the initiative, adding that the council has decided to open Primary Health Centers (PHC) in Male’s four districts, as well as nearby Villingili and Hulhumale.
He added that the centers will help “reduce the current pressures faced by the hospitals” as parents can take their children to the paediatricians at the health centers instead of going directly to hospitals.
“The parents can bring the children here. The doctor at the center will recommend if further consultation is required from hospitals”, the Mayor explained.
He added that centers will provide immunization, vaccination and free consultations, among other health services.
The program follows the implementation of the Aasandha universal health insurance scheme, under which Maldivians will receive up to Rf100,000 of free health care per year. Government officials have said the scheme now holds the government to a higher standard of health care.
During the primary school admission process last year, the Ministry of Education observed that an increasing number of children were not properly vaccinated.
Parents are required to submit a vaccination report with the school application form when their children enroll in grade one, at the age of seven.
Following the Ministry’s observation, public health experts stressed the importance of a comprehensive primary health care initiative to ensure proper immunisation of children.
Speaking today to Minivan News, Public Health Programme Coordinator for the Center for Community Health and Disease Control (CCHDC) Dr Fathmath Nazla Rafeeq welcomed the city council’s initiative as an important move to provide easy access to vaccination and monitoring.
She noted that the Maldives already has a record high vaccination coverage rate in the region, adding that the health centers will help “sustain the coverage”.
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The best thing to happen to our kids
Nasheed does a good thing and nobody bothers to applaud him.
I am well known for hating his guts but even I accept that this is a laudable step and that successive governments should try to improve on this.
A very sound move. Primary Health care needs to be extended to the rest of the population. We can't continue with the general population going into hospitals for Panadol treatment!
Maldivians are notorious for turning up at hospitals even for the most minor ailment. The introduction of the insurance program has worsened the situation. Now, everyone will turn up to see a doctor, just 'cos they have a cold or a headache. Education, education and more education is needed.
Checking height and weight of kids and giving them vaccines have always been practiced in Maldives since ages. Now that the president brands it 'Primary Health Care Program' doesn't mean he has done a magic. He hasn't done anything new. The primary care practice always exhisted in this city. It has been done efficiently always in IGMH and Male' Health Centre. What we really need is improvement of the Secondary Health Care Service in the country. We still don't have enough and efficient medical expertise and services in this country. Many doctors have left the servoce since Nasheed came to power. Nasheed managed to cut the pays of the doctors like all other civil servants and increase the pay of himself and his useless MPs. This so called 'Primary Care Program' is nothing but a mere election stunt. Bye the a primary health care doesn't exhist without a GP. So where is the GP in your established Primary Health Care Clinic? Its so easy for you to fool the poor innocent Maldivians.
it would be great if you can focus on some of the ‘real’ iusses. the politics behind these, instead of just ‘cool geekery’. anyway good effort.xxx