President Muizzu admits to difficulties in sourcing medicines
27 ޖުލައި 2026 | ހޯމަ 06:34The President has announced that the government is taking decisive action to dismantle the "medicine mafia" profiting from inflated pharmaceutical prices in the Maldives. To address this issue, a "State Pharma" company has been established, with the President promising a permanent solution to medication shortages within the next two to three months, despite having missed several previously set deadlines for resolving the crisis.
The public has been forced to beg for medication as the Aasandha scheme fails to provide essential supplies. After repeatedly denying these claims until today, President Muizzu has finally admitted that there are significant challenges in accessing medicine. | RaajjeMV
President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has acknowledged that there are currently challenges in the availability of essential medicines.
Speaking at the official ceremony marking Independence Day, President Muizzu stated that the country is currently navigating a period of significant challenges regarding the availability of essential medicines.
The President stated that when he assumed office in 2023, a "medicine mafia" was operating within the Maldives. He further noted that the recent medicine shortages were a result of deliberate actions taken by importers to cause public hardship, in retaliation for the government's efforts to dismantle this illicit network.
We implemented the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) because, as you are aware, private parties were generating profits exceeding 2,000 percent on certain types of medication. This was being funded through Aasandha, essentially using public funds as a subsidy.President Muizzu
The President stated that a company named 'State Pharma' has been established to resolve the country's medicine shortages, with the project currently progressing through its final implementation stages. He further noted that a permanent solution to the challenges in sourcing essential medication will be achieved within the next two to three months.
President Muizzu’s remarks come in the wake of several previous deadlines he had set to resolve the ongoing medicine shortage. Despite these prior commitments, various timelines previously established to address the pharmaceutical crisis have already passed.
During the official Republic Day ceremony in 2024, the President pledged to dismantle the "medicine mafia" and resolve the ongoing pharmaceutical shortages. While he later announced on February 24, 2025, that all essential medicines would be imported by March 15 of that year, the President's deadline has passed without a resolution to the medication crisis.
Despite providing all these deadlines, it was stated once again during the "Nation Chat" podcast on May 24, 2026, that a solution to the medicine shortage would be secured within the next two months.
