Government plans to build new hospital in Addu City

President Mohamed Nasheed has said today that the government had started plans to secure a 25 million US dollar loan from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to build a new hospital in Addu City.

In a press conference held at the President’s Office today, the President said that discussions about the project had already begun between the government and IDB, and that the application for the loan had already been submitted.

“We hope that the Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister shall visit us during the upcoming SAARC Summit and that the agreement shall be executed while he is here”, said the President.

When asked by Sun Correspondent about his statement during the presidential campaign of 2008 about never taking loans for national development projects of any kind as it would increase national debt, the President said that the government’s target was to not let national debt rise higher than 60% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The President also said that the government now considered the purposes for which loans could be used, and that it could be done if the project in question is beneficial to the people.

“We will think about the purpose for which the loan is being secured; whether it is to build a hospital, or a palace, or a school, for instance. If a project is beneficial to the government and the people, then taking a loan for the project is not a problem”, said the President.

The President expressed his satisfaction about the progress seen in Addu City healthcare system because of the efforts put on the eve of the upcoming SAARC Summit. He said that a team of special doctors would work in Addu City Hospital and that the services of the Intensive Care Unit at the Hospital had been upgraded through supply of some equipment.

The President repeated his promise that the services of health insurance, under the madhana program, would be provided to all the people in the country by the end of coming January, and said that the work to achieve that goal had been conducted at a very fast speed. He also said that by the beginning of January, all pharmacies in the country would be included in the insurance scheme.