Day: March 25, 2013

Man sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for sexually abusing a minor

A man convicted of the sexual abuse of a 15-year-old girl has been sentenced to 14 years imprisonment by the Criminal Court.

An official from Criminal Court told local media that Afrah Hussain of Maavaidhoo in Haa Dhaalu Atoll was sentenced following witness testimonies proving he had been involved in sexual activities with a minor in Hulhumale’ on May 30, 2011.

Local media reported that the state had also pressed charges against Afrah Hussain for owning pornographic material.

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Demand rising rapidly for child cardiac care in the Maldives: Tiny Hearts NGO

NGO Tiny Hearts of Maldives has claimed there is a strong increase in the number of families seeking consultations with child cardiac specialists volunteering at a healthcare camp it has been running annually since 2010.

During the second day of the Care for Tiny Hearts 2013 camp, which is set to conclude tomorrow (March 26), the NGO has claimed it will be hosting consultations and workshops with specialists from the Maldives and India to try and fill a gap in local healthcare concerning Congenital Heart Defects (CHD). Some 300 patients are currently said to be registered with Tiny Hearts.

Healthcare volunteers from India, a cardiac specialist from Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) in Male’ and a local surgeon are said to be involved in this year’s program, which includes a workshop on trying to identify serious conditions at a foetal stage, according to local media.

A spokesperson for the charity today told Minivan News that a limited number of cardiac specialists practising in the Maldives had meant there remained a narrow opportunity for screening and supporting children at risk from CHD.

In addressing perceived challenges affecting its work, Tiny Hearts of Maldives claimed that it was experiencing difficulties common to many welfare and health groups across the country – namely in the limited resources available to Maldivians seeking specialist care.

As an example of these challenges, the spokesperson pointed to the importance of the Indian healthcare system in ensuring Maldivians were presently able to receive more specialist treatment in areas such as congenital illness.

However, the NGO spokesperson said that Tiny Heart’s biggest challenge remained in spreading awareness among the public about congenital disease of all kinds, as well as informing others on how and where they can seek support.

“Every individual can make a difference by spending a few minutes to share information with others on congenital illnesses,” the spokesperson added.

Tiny Hearts, which was formed back in 2009 to help local children suffering with CHD, has been at the centre of a number of high-profile awareness schemes and special fund-raisers in the Maldives in recent years.

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New drug-resistant strain of TB found in Maldives “quite serious”: HPA

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has warned that a new drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis (TB) that has appeared in the Maldives poses “quite a serious threat” to people’s health.

The agency’s comments follow a report released by the Ministry of Health on Sunday (March 24), revealing that it faces new challenges in order to control the disease in the Maldives.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), TB is an infectious bacterial disease that can be transmitted via droplets in the throat and lungs of the infected.

WHO states that drug-resistant strains of TB have become a major public health problem that has resulted from patients not fully completing the recommended six-month course of treatment.

HPA Public Health Program Officer Shina Ahmed told Minivan News today (March 25) that although the new strain of TB is “quite serious”, the particular strain found in the Maldives is not resistant to every drug available to patients.

“We have had a few cases come in now with the new strain. The most important thing we have to do is to continue and complete the course of treatment.

“Most of these drug-resistant strains are caused by patients stopping the treatment. We have enough drug supplies to give to them, but because the course goes on for six months, patients tend to go off taking the treatment towards the end,” Shina said.

Local media reported that the Health Ministry had revealed that 10,563 people had been registered to receive treatment for TB since 1963, out of which 5,256 people were said to have infected lungs.

Shina claimed that the majority of cases within the Maldives have been reported on the islands as opposed to Male’, and that in order to prevent the spread of the disease the HPA will be undertaking awareness programs.

An official from Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) in Male’ stated that there was no need for the public to be concerned in regard to the spread of the disease, adding that there may have been only “one or two” cases found to have contracted the new strain.

“When we find a patient who is not responding to the prescribed course of treatment, there is always a second course they can take instead,” the official told Minivan News.

According to WHO, healthy individuals infected with TB are not often affected by any symptoms as the person’s immune system acts to “wall off” the bacteria.

The organisation states that symptoms of active TB are coughing, sometimes with blood, chest pains, weakness, weight loss, fever and night sweats.

The WHO Representative to the Maldives, Dr Akjemal Magtymova, Health Minister Dr Ahmed Jamsheed Mohamed and the Health Ministry were not responding to calls at time of press.

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