Maldives Blood Services’ coordinator transferred to Dhamanaveshi

Faisal Ibrahim, the public health coordinator at Maldives Blood Services (MBS), has been transferred to Dhamanaveshi.

The move comes after thalassemia patients and their families gathered outside the headquarters of MBS, commonly referred to as the thalassemia center, on Saturday night, demanding the resignation of senior officials at the MBS, including Faisal and Aminath Shiruna, a state minister for health.

The protest prompted a visit the next day from President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu. Following the visit, President Muizzu noted that the MBS hasn’t had a director general since 2017, and vowed to implement immediate measures to improve the services provided at the center.

A senior official from the Health Ministry told Sun on Tuesday that Faisal has been transferred out of the MBS to Dhamanaveshi, while Ahusan Hussain, a director at the service, has been transferred to the Health Ministry’s department on public healthcare in atolls.

The move comes a day after Ahmed Mausoom was appointed as the director general of MBS – filling a position that has been vacant for eight years.

The Health Ministry has also said that it will be also appointing two deputy director generals to the MBS soon, and recruiting a physician and five nurses, along with administrative workers to the center.

Maldives is home to the largest population of thalassemia patients in the South East Asia region, with over 600 registered thalassemia patients.

However, there have been persistent complaints regarding the poor quality of healthcare services available to thalassemia patients as well as lack access to a regular supply of the essential medicines they need.