Maldives receives 50k Hydroxychloroquine tablets from India

The consignment of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) tablets approved by the Indian government to the Maldives, arrived on Wednesday.

This was announced by the High Commission of India on Twitter (HCI), via a statement which reads that the delivery was made following a request from the Maldivian government.

As such, a total of “50,000” of the HCQ tablets, described by Indian health professionals as a “game changer” in the treatment of the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) disease, were donated by the neighboring country.

While the HCQ was approved last Saturday, the shipment arrived less than 48 hours after President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi had a telephone conversation to discuss the impacts of Covid-19 on the Maldives health sector as well as its economic growth.

During this conversation, PM Modi emphasized on the special bond that exists between both countries and reiterated India’s commitment to stand by Maldives, described as a maritime neighbor and friend, during this challenging period.

Further, the statement by HCI reads that the “quick dispatch” of these tablets to the Maldives shortly after the conversation between the two leaders sheds light on the “time-tested” bonds of friendship as well as the “speed and synergy” that defines our present-day bilateral partnership.

It also compliments India’s “neighborhood first” policy and Maldives’ “India first” policy.

The medicine is currently being used as a prophylactic across several nations in the battle against the pandemic and are instructed to be used under the direction of Maldivian health authorities. India is the largest manufacturer of HCQ, accounting for 70% of its production. The neighboring country has boosted local production of the drug to meet the growing domestic and export demands.