Vice President Faisal Naseem has expressed the government will always give top priority to providing satisfactory health services to the people. He made the statement at the inauguration of the Diploma in Radiography Course conducted by the State Trading Organisation (STO) in collaboration with GE Health Care which is based in the United States (US).
Speaking at the ceremony, Vice President Naseem said efforts of building human resources in various fields must never be stopped and stressed the importance of building productive and talented people for the development of any industry. He noted there are a relatively large number of foreigners in senior positions in the health sector in the Maldives speaking about the importance of building locals capable to replace these positions. He added it was proven during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Furthermore, Vice President Naseem said the government aims to end the long-standing dependence of the people of the islands on the central city for health services. He said the results of the efforts are now being seen across the Maldives.
Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Health Ahmed Naseem said it is the first time that a sustainable radiography training programme has been launched in the Maldives. He also mentioned the efforts made by STO to make it a reality despite the difficulties of COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Managing Director Hussain Amr said the most important priority of STO is to implement government policies in a way that benefits the people. The first batch of 25 children will be trained free of charge with the assistance of STO scholarships. The students who have received STO scholarships for the Diploma in Radiography course were presented with their certificates at the ceremony. The certificate was handed over to the students by Vice President Naseem. The official logo of STO Training Institute was also launched at the ceremony.
The Diploma in Radiography course, jointly conducted by the Ministry of Health, Maldives National University (MNU), and STO, aims to build and increase the number of qualified Maldivians as radiography technicians in the job market. The course is conducted in accordance with the standards of the Maldives Qualifications Authority (MQA) and the Maldives Allied Health Council.