Ministry of Finance has revealed the Maldives has spent a total of USD270 million on national COVID-19 recovery efforts.
The quarterly COVID-19 spending report released by the finance ministry shows the total COVID-19 spending was at USD270 million in the second quarter of this year, which is a 0.6% increase compared to the first quarter. The government has decreased the expenditure on COVID-19 recovery efforts due to the decrease in cases in the Maldives. The report shows that USD149 million has been spent on health and social spending while USD116 million has been spent on emergency response preparedness (ERP) since 2020.
As per the report, most of the health and social expenses went to the operations of the Ministry of Health with USD60 million, while USD51 million was spent on National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), and USD15 million was spent on Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH). The report revealed the majority of the expenses were for purchasing the equipment and resources needed for COVID-19 operations, such as test kits and personal protective equipment (PPE).
International organisations have praised the Maldives for being able to implement measures to overcome and successfully recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The government predicts the country will reach pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year.