The project of upgrading Himmafushi Health Centre

The development of health sectors in local islands of the Maldives has become more important than ever with the amount of congestion increasing in Male’ City. While most people would rather the peace of their own home islands, the lack of development in sectors such as health has left a lot of people with no choice but to crowd into Male’ in order to get basic healthcare.

However, this clearly has never worked well for people from islands as well as those who reside in Male’ as queues for hospitals keep getting longer and people are left waiting months and years for their appointments. And the need to change and develop the health sector has become increasingly important, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic showed us the importance of healthcare, even at its most basic level, is much needed in every single island or country where people reside. 

On November 8, 2022, a signing ceremony was hosted between the Japanese Embassy in the Maldives and Himmafushi Health Centre for ‘The project of upgrading Himmafushi Health Centre’. This signing ceremony was hosted in order to facilitate basic Laboratory and Radiology services in Himmafushi health cetre.

This grant of USD 174,230 is an important step towards the development of the health sector in Himmafushi.

While these basic health services should be available on all inhabited islands, the Maldives' health sector is still developing at such a slow pace that some islands started receiving laboratory services only recently.

Even with the delays, it is still critical to provide necessary healthcare services on islands while also lowering the cost of receiving medical treatments — particularly the costs associated with having to travel to the city for basic services such as blood tests.