Whilst delivering remarks at the ceremony celebrating the Golden Jubilee of the provision of health services at Baa Atoll Eydhafushi, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has emphasized that under his administration special priority will be accorded towards the Primary Healthcare Program from this year onwards.

While his administration is committed to affordable, accessible and high-quality healthcare for all Maldivian citizens, children constitute one of the most vulnerable segments of our population and it is therefore imperative that special priority is accorded to them in the provision of health services. Accordingly, this administration will build on existing child vaccination programs and also implement preventive measures to keep them safe from various common serious illnesses and ailments.

Children’s healthcare is one of the areas in which the Maldives can boast some success, having drastically reduced infant mortality over the past several decades to the point where it is statistically negligible, and we have also eliminated the occurrence of diseases to which children are exceptionally vulnerable such as measles and polio. It is also worth noting that under this administration, Maldives was the first country in South Asia to eliminate Malaria and Filariasis.

This administration will build on these successes through a combination of our broader investments in improving general healthcare and focused attention on public health.