State owed MVR 300 mil to STO: Minister Khaleel

The current administration inherited MVR 300 million in outstanding payments owed to the State Trading Organization (STO) for health sector-related transactions, said the Minister of Health Dr. Abdulla Khaleel on Tuesday.

Dr. Khaleel was summoned to parliament's Tuesday sitting for questioning, where he made these statements.

Kendhoo MP Mauroof Zakir questioned about Health Ministry's efforts to solve difficulties in procuring consumables for hospitals and health centers.

Khaleel responded to this, stating that this occurred occasionally but adding that the ministry was working with STO to eliminate supply-chain disruptions to medical consumables.

After he highlighted the MVR 300 million this government inherited in outstanding payments to STO, Khaleel said majority of this sum has already been paid. He did not provide additional details however.

"When we took charge of the government, we inherited close to MVR 300 million in outstanding payments, which included payments for consumables, reagents and other health sector-related expenses, but majority of this has been paid now," the minister said.

The minister added that clearance of outstanding balances to STO has also ensured uninterrupted supply of consumables from the state-owned enterprise (SOE).

Khaleel said the ministry is currently developing a software application to solve supply-chain disruptions, which he said would help health institutions identify insufficient consumables and pharmaceuticals.

Under an agreement between STO and UNDP, the government introduced a new bulk procurement system to enhance the availability of consumables in the health sector and facilitated the import of European standard medicines.