Tag: health ministry

President forms office to oversee “second chance” inmates

President Mohamed Nasheed has formed an office to oversee the release of almost 400 inmates released under the “second chance programme”, and has also formed a steering committee and a technical committee to monitor the reintegration of former inmates into society.

According to the President’s Office, the Second Chance Office will be administered by the Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services (DPRS), which is under direct authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs

“The Second Chance Programme Office is a government agency which will provide employment assistance, counselling for substance abuse, mentoring and other services that can help to reduce recidivism and promote social reintegration of inmates,” the President’s Office said.

The Steering Committee consists of Minister of Health and Family Dr Aminath Jameel, Minister of Human Resources, Youth and Sports Hassan Latheef, Minister of State for Home Affairs Mohamed Naeem, Deputy Minister for Health and Family Lubna Mohamed Zahir Hussain, and Director at the Ministry of Human Resources, Youth and Sports Aishath Rasheed.

The members appointed to the Technical Committee are the Mayor of Male’ City Maizan Ali Maniku, Deputy Minister of Islamic Affairs Mohamed Farooq, Deputy Commissioner of Police Ahmed Muneer, and Deputy Director at the Maldives Police Service Sabra Nooraddeen.

At a press conference today, Deputy Health Minister Lubna Mohamed announced that 47 inmates will be released this evening.

Lubna told press that all inmates will be given three days free to spend with their families before they will have to come out for work and attend programmes held at the Second Chance Office.

Of the 47 inmates to be released tonight, 16 have job placements secured at the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) engineering corps, Lubna said.

Speaking at the press conference, State Minister for Home Affairs Mohamed Naeem stressed that all the inmates will be closely monitored by police.

He added that any inmate that fails to fully comply with the Second Chance Office will be promptly sent back to prison to complete the rest of their sentence.

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Cabinet consultations continue over hospital upgrade plans

The cabinet is working to finalise proposals for upgrading Kulhudhuffushi Regional Hospital and Addu City Regional Hospital in order to match the services provided at Male’s Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) and better meet the challenges facing the country’s health sector.

The Ministry of Health was not able to detail the exact nature of these proposed upgrades when contacted by Minivan News, but said discussions would continue in cabinet over the next few days regarding the “improvements” required to the hospitals and the wider health sector.

According to the President’s Office, a steering committee of cabinet ministers has been drawn up to try and outline the direction of the hospital upgrades and identify present shortcomings within the country’s health services.  Efforts for combating the spread of dengue fever are also said to be a part of the discussions.

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Private clinics increases charges

Haveeru has reported private health clinics in Male’ have increased consultation fee and other charges without the approval of the Health Ministry.

”The charges were increased because doctors and other technical staff are being paid in US dollar and the rise in prices of medical consumables,” claimed some clinics according to Haveeru.

Meanwhile senior official at the Health Ministry Dr Ibrahim Yasir told the paper that the ministry has not allowed clinics to increase consultation fees and other charges, and that action could be taken against those clinics who increase the prices without the approval of the ministry.


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President forms committee to control gang violence in the Maldives

President Mohamed Nasheed has formed a special committee to curb gang violence and gang related crimes in the Maldives.

The committee consists of National Security Advisor Ameen Faisal, Home Minister Hassan Afeef, Attorney General Abdulla Muiz, State Defence Minister Mohamed Muiz Adnan and Prosecutor General Ahmed Muiz.

The President’s Office said that the committee had their first meetings yesterday afternoon and had decided to establish a special task force to curb serious and organised crime.

The task force will be led by Maldives Police Service and will consist of officials from the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services (DPRS), Attorney General’s Office, Ministry of Education, Courts of law, Prosecutor General’s Office, Maldives Customs Service, Ministry of Health and Family, Ministry of Human Resources Youth and Sports, Immigration Department and officials from the Local Government Authority.

The work of the special task force will be to secure the citizens of the country, isolate and arrest those who commit offences that disrupt the peace and harmony, to rehabilitate criminals and to offer opportunities for them to be back in society after they are reformed.

‘’This committee assures the citizens that we will constantly work to reinstate the peace in this country in national level,’’ the committee said in a statement via the president’s office. ‘’We will continuously try to gain attention and cooperation from the implementing agencies, businessman, NGOs, political parties and the public.’’

The committee said that in order to achieve its goal, all the institutions should corporate and work together.

This week the committee will meet the Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid, National Security Committee [241 committee] of the parliament, Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz and other judges at the Supreme Court.

Recently a ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Rasheed presented an amendment to the Clemency Act which requires upholding death sentences if upheld by the Supreme Court and later withdrew it for the Penal Code and Evidence Bill was not yet passed.

In 2008 Rasheed said 104 cases of assault were sent to Prosecutor General, increasing to 454 in 2009 and 423 cases in 2010.

More recently 21 year-old Ahusan Basheer was stabbed to death on Alikileygefaanu Magu.

On June 2008, the major gangs in Male’ gave a press conference at Dharubaaruge and declared ‘’peace’’ and vowed to work together.

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Murder suspect at large

The Maldives Police Service has appealed for public assistance as it searches for fugitive Ibrahim Shahum, 20, of Galholhu Cozy, the principal suspect in the gang-related murder of 21-year old Ahusan Basheer last week.

Shahum was arrested in August last year in connection with the murder of 17-year old Mohamed Hussein on July 30, 2010, which occured near the Maaziya playground in Male’.  The suspect had later turned himself in after three weeks of police searches.

However, he was released six months later on 17 February by Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed after police claimed that the Health Ministry had not complied with requests for the medico-legal report from Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGHM), where the victim died while undergoing treatment.

According to Haveeru, Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed observed that six months was “a bit too much” to respond to a police request, ordering the release of the suspect “to hold [Health Minister] Aminath Jameel responsible.”

A statement issued by police on Thursday notes that upon request the Prosecutor General’s Office appealed the Criminal Court ruling three days later.

“Police are extremely concerned about such incidents. The Maldives Police Service will be taking special measures to curb the rising crime in society,” read the statement that also appealed for the cooperation of the authorities and the public to aid police efforts.

Meanwhile, the authorities continue to shift blame after the Criminal Court last week issued a statement defending the court from public criticism over the release of dangerous suspects.  The Criminal Court stressed that persons brought before it had constitutional rights and should be considered innocent until proven guilty.

The statement claims that court records show a number of defendants brought before the court had previously been sentenced to jail and “none of the relevant authorities of the state could prove that any of these people had been released to society on a Criminal Court order.”

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WHO preparing advisory statement on Japanese nuclear crisis

The Health Ministry is considering possible action in the event of a reactor explosion in a Japanese nuclear power plant damaged by the recent earthquake and resultant tsunami.

Permanent Secretary at the Maldivian Health Ministry Geela Ali told Haveeru that the World Health Organisation (WHO) was preparing to issue an advisory statement on the potential risks and preventative measures in the event of radioactive fallout. Radioactive particles released in an explosion can potentially travel hundreds of miles.

Japanese authorities have evaculated residents within 20 kilometres of the Fukushima power plant, and ordered those within 30 kilometres to remain indoors and seal doors and windows. Authorities have also implemented a no-fly zone in a 30 kilometre radius.

The US Seventh Fleet has meanwhile moved its ships away from Japan despite already being 100 miles offshore, after the USS Ronald Reagan detected that its crew had been exposed to radiation equivalent to one month of normal background radiation.

Radiation levels around the plant are rising and authorities have ordered all but 50 staff to leave the plant. Three hydrogen explosions over the last four days have increased the risk of nuclear fuel becoming exposed to air, however the Tokyo Electric Company has been using seawater to cool the four damaged reactors.

“This is not a serious public health issue at the moment,” Secretary of the UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, Malcolm Crick, told news agency Reuters.

“It won’t be anything like Chernobyl. There the reactor was operating at full power when it exploded and it had no containment.”

That such a leak could happen in Japan, with the country’s high construction standards and rigourous attention to protocol for its nuclear industry, has prompted a number of countries to review their use of nuclear power, which has been touted as a proven alternative to fossil fuels for large-scale power generation.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced a review of the country’s 20 reactors, most of which are located along the coastline, while the Swiss government suspended all plans to replace and build nuclear reactors. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said ambitious plans to build dozens of nuclear power stations would continue.

So far Japan has confirmed 2,414 people dead in the tsunami disaster and 3,118 missing, while the final toll is expected to reach 10,000.

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Court releases murder suspect citing lack of cooperation from Health Ministry

The Criminal Court today released Ibrahim Shahum Adam, a 19 year-old who was arrested in August last year for allegedly murdering 17 year-old Mohamed Hussain.

Adam was presented to the Criminal Court with a police request to extend the period of detention, but Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed noted that the Criminal Court had already extended the detention of Shahum by six months for investigation which had not yet been concluded.

Police blamed the Health Ministry, and told the judge that the investigation had not concluded ministry had not responded to a letter police sent in August 2010 requesting the medical report on the death of Mohamed Hussain.

Judge Abdulla told police this was not reasonable grounds to keep a person in detention.

He said he regretted that police and government authorities were not cooperating to make the society peaceful and noted that the court alone could not succeed in this, according to a report in newspaper Haveeru.

The paper also quoted Judge Abdulla as saying that ”keeping a person in detention for not getting a response to one letter sent to the health ministry is too much.”

Judge Abdulla also acknowledged that police were not getting the cooperation from government authorities.

Hussain was stabbed in the leg near the Social Centre in Maafannu, Male’.

He was admitted to Indira Gandi Memorial Hospital and treated for more than eight hours in the Intensive Care Unit, but the knife severed a major artery and despite an emergency blood transfusion he died the following morning at 6:15am.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that police had always fully cooperated with the courts to the fullest extent possible.

”We cannot do or say anything regarding something beyond our borders,” said Shiyam. ”It is the responsibility of the police to obey the courts and we will follow the court’s orders.”

State Health mMinister Abdul Baary Yousuf told Minivan News that he  had no information regarding the issue and referred to the Permanent Secretary Geela Ali. Ali is currently outside the country.

Judge Abdulla Mohamed did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

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Police investigate “serious issue” at ‘Kudakudhinge Hiya’ orphanage

The Maldives Police Service and the Health Ministry have commenced a joint investigation into “serious issues” concerning the mistreatment of children at ‘Kudakudhinge Hiya’, the only orphanage in the Maldives.

Yesterday, police and the gender department of the health ministry held a joint press conference and declared that serious issues concerning the orphanage had been logged with the police as well as with the gender ministry.

Chief Inspector of the Child Protection Unit Ali Shujau and Deputy Minister for Health Mariya Ali would disclose no information regarding the case, other than saying that an allegation was lodged at the Ministry on October 2, and that it “definitely does not concern child sexual abuse.”

Speaking to a person familiar with the matter, Minivan News understands that police summoned staff working at the orphanage to clarify whether any mistreatment or abusing was ongoing in the orphanage.

Staff working at the orphanage were asked whether children who misbehaved were punished, and if so what the punishments consisted of. The police also asked how the staff dealt with children who misbehaved.

Minivan’s source denied rumours currently circulating around Villingili that orphans were being abused, however the source did say that a number of children over the age of 10 were living at the orphanage, including a 19 year-old man.

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