MDP calls for Health Minister

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has said that Minister of Health Dr Maryam Shakeela should resign following the incident wherein a pregnant woman was transfused with HIV positive blood at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).

Speaking at a press conference this afternoon, MDP Parliamentary Group Deputy Leader Ali Waheed said that the incident was not the fault of the laboratory technician alone, and if Dr Shakeela refuses to resign, a motion of no-confidence will be filed against her to the parliament.

He went on to say that this was no usual incident, and criticised the government for its actions following the incident.

“The President should apologise to the people, because this happened at a government hospital,” said Ali Waheed.

He said that an emergency motion regarding this matter, signed by three MDP members, had been filed to a parliamentary committee.

MDP Chairperson Reeko Moosa Manik repeated that this blunder was not caused by one person alone, and called on the Health Minister to take responsibility.

MDP also called on the government to use Finance Ministry’s budget to improve IGMH, and said that MDP is prepared to cooperate, through the parliament, with all efforts in this regard.