Due to the lack of adequate health care, an unborn baby has died in the mother’s womb, in Thoddoo island of Alif Alif atoll.

The issue surfaced on Thursday and the fetus is reported to have died due to the authorities' delay in providing treatment for the mother.

According to reports circulating on social media, the Thoddoo Health Center was unable to provide treatment for the mother and authorities had supposedly not permitted her transfer to Rasdhoo island in the same atoll, for treatment.

The woman was taken to the health center on Wednesday and reports have it that there was a shortage of adequate equipment and amenities there to provide treatment for the pregnant woman.

RaajjeMV was unable to attain a comment from health officers on the island at the time of publishing.

The island council however, noted that they had given the required permission for the woman to travel.

However, the woman was told that the Rasdhoo Atoll Hospital was unable to provide services.

The Atoll Hospital told RaajjeMV that the woman was a high-risk patient and that the hospital did not have the required facilities to treat a premature baby. Due to its lack of resources and the condition of the patient, the hospital officials are to have refused to provide services for the patient.

Parliamentarian for the constituency, Ahmed Shiyan has since noted that the relevant ministries have been informed of the matter and the case is being probed under the supervision of the Vice President of the Maldives, Faisal Naseem. He added that they are working to bring amendments so as to ensure that such incidents do not repeat.

Thoddoo Health Center has been providing round-the-clock services from December 2016 and it currently has four beds and one operational ward. Further, the center only has a general consultant available to provide services for the entire community.