Parliament seeks answers from Aasandha and STO as patients struggle to access essential drugs

The Parliament’s Social Affairs Committee has summoned officials from Aasandha and the State Trading Organization (STO) to investigate the growing shortage of essential medicines across the country.

In a letter to Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdullah, North Galolhu MP Mohamed Ibrahim (Kudu) said that since last year, doctors have been unable to obtain many prescribed medicines from private pharmacies through Aasandha.

He said the most alarming issue is that several types of medicines are now completely unavailable in the Maldives, particularly those required by elderly patients and people on long‑term treatment plans. He added that patients frequently report being unable to get the dosage prescribed by their doctors.

Kudu stressed that medicines for chronic conditions such as diabetes, cancer and hypertension must always be reliably available. He said such shortages had not occurred under previous administrations, noting that even during the global pandemic, access to essential medicines was not this difficult.

He said the matter has been raised in Parliament multiple times without a meaningful solution, and urged immediate action to safeguard basic services such as access to medication.

Kudu therefore requested the Social Affairs Committee to summon officials from Aasandha and STO to explain the reasons behind the shortages.

Public concern over the lack of medicines has been rising in recent months, and the President has repeatedly acknowledged the issue during public meetings.

Meanwhile, the government has established a new pharmaceutical company, the State Pharmaceutical and Medical Supply Corporation Limited. STO, which remains fully state‑owned, has long been responsible for importing and distributing medical drugs, consumables and equipment, and operates pharmacies across all inhabited islands.

Health Minister Abdullah Nazim Ibrahim recently told Parliament that the Maldives has the potential to develop into a pharmaceutical manufacturing country.