News Desk
MALÉ — President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has declared that the ongoing medicine shortages in the country are not accidental, but rather a deliberate fabrication orchestrated by vested private interests seeking to penalise the public.
Speaking at the official Independence Day function, the President revealed that certain private pharmaceutical importers had previously been reaping profit margins nearing 2,000 percent. Characterising these operations as a concerted medicine “mafia,” he asserted that the artificial shortages were engineered as an act of retaliation against recent state-mandated pricing controls.
“This is a calculated effort by certain groups to cause distress to our citizens in response to government reforms in the pharmaceutical sector.” President
To combat these exploitative practices, the administration has introduced a Maximum Retail Price (MRP) cap governing pharmaceuticals purchased through the national Aasandha health insurance scheme. According to presidential estimates, this structural reform is projected to save the state budget approximately 500 million Rufiyaa annually.
In a parallel move to dismantle supply chain bottlenecks, the government has established a new state-owned enterprise titled “State Pharma”. This entity is designed to overhaul the national import and distribution network, ensuring a secure, transparent, and reliable supply of medicine for the general public.
Addressing public anxiety over the availability of essential therapeutics, President Muizzu assured citizens that the current shortages would be comprehensively resolved within the next two to three months.
