The government of the Maldives has held discussions with the World Health Organisation (WHO) on the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines to the Maldives.
The discussions were held between Minister of Health Ahmed Naseem, the Director-General of WHO Tedros Adhanom and the Regional-Director of WHO for the Southeast Asia Region Poonam Khetrapal Singh. The discussions were facilitated by the WHO Office in the Maldives.
WHO has been providing assistance in strengthening the COVID-19 response of the Maldives. In this regard, the organization has provided technical and financial assistance in establishing COVID-19 treatment facilities in the Maldives. WHO has also donated COVID-19 test kits to the Maldives on numerous occasions.
The government had earlier announced the decision to begin COVID-19 vaccination in the Maldives in the first quarter of next year. It was revealed that the Maldives will receive free COVID-19 vaccines for 20% of the population through the COVAX Facility, which was established to guarantee fair and equitable access to the vaccine for every country in the world. Health Emergency Operation Centre (HEOC) revealed 3% from that said percentage is allocated for frontline workers, while the remaining 17% is allocated for people aged 50 and above and for patients seeking treatment for long term diseases.
Additionally, the government has also decided to purchase vaccines from other sources with the aim of vaccinating the entire population.