STO is owed millions by multiple government related organisations.
State Trading Organisation (STO) has not received more than a billion Maldivian Rufiyaa for medicines and other items sold to some health service providers by the government, Mihaaru News reported today.
According to Mihaaru News, that MVR one billion is for medicines and other services provided by STO to the Health Ministry, IGMH, Hulhumalé Hospital, Aasandha Company, NSPA and Addu Equatorial Hospital.
While STO has also shared some of these details with the relevant parliamentary committee at the request of the parliament, a member of the committee reportedly told Mihaaru that there is a serious delay in receiving the funds due for the bills provided by the company. This, he said, has made it difficult for the company to pay suppliers to bring in the drugs.
He confirmed that figures show that various government agencies providing health services have to pay more than MVR one billion to STO.
Out of that, the largest amount is owed by the Ministry of Health, Aasandha and NSPA. With bills unpaid by these parties for over a year, due amounts exceed MVR 200 million. IGMH's bill owed to STO is also at MVE 192 million.
1- Ministry of Health - MVR 289 million
2- Aasandha Company - MVR 252 million
3- NSPA - MVR 238 million
4- Addu Equatorial Hospital - MVR 5,369
5- Hulhumalé Hospital - MVR 24 million
6- IGMH- MVR 192 million
According to the official, STO had also shared its concerns with the relevant committee of the parliament in November last year. The details of the outstanding funds were shared because the parliament wanted to know about the difficulties in getting medicines for cancer patients.
STO has imported chemotherapy drugs and made them available at the company’s pharmacies. But there have been challenges in getting the drugs needed for "targeted therapy".
An official of STO said that cancer patients are treated under a special plan prescribed by the doctor and that the company brings the medicines required for the plan as per the prescription letter issued by the doctor.
It is also difficult to bring and store in a separate stock of these drugs. If the drug is brought and kept, it must be registered with the Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA). However, the committee member told Mihaaru that pharmaceutical companies are reluctant to provide the documents required to be submitted under the regulations for registering drugs in Maldives.
Despite this, STO is reportedly working to ensure that cancer patients have access to medicines without difficulty.
Sign In
