Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the State Trading Organisation (STO) and the Ministry of Health for the procurement of machinery required to start Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan services in the Maldives.
The agreement was signed by Minister of State for Health Shah Abdullah Mahir, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IGMH Ibrahim Saleem and General Manager at STO Ahmed Nihad. Under the agreement, STO is tasked with procuring a PET scan machine along with additional equipment within two months to begin services.
The number of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are increasing in the Maldives with a total of 84% of deaths occurring due to such diseases, according to the health ministry. More than 1,200 cancer patients are currently registered at the Hulhumale' Hospital, which is the main hospital providing cancer therapy services in the country. In addition, cancer patients are required to travel abroad for treatment as PET scan services are currently not available in the country. The scan allows patients to check for cancer in the body and the spread of cancer. More than 1,000 patients are also sent abroad annually for cancer treatment.
The health ministry stated that the decision to launch the PET scan services at IGMH was to reduce huge expenditures incurred by the public and the government to obtain the service from abroad. The service will officially begin as soon as the PET scan machine has been installed.