Health Minister pledges to resolve concerns of parents with children with disabilities

Health Minister Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim has met with parents of children with disabilities where he assured their concerns will be addressed amid mounting issues affecting children and people with disabilities.

On Tuesday, the Parliament, in which the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) holds a supermajority, rejected an emergency motion filed by main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s North Galolhu MP Mohamed Ibrahim (Kudu) alleging failure of state institutions mandated with providing healthcare and social protection to persons with disabilities.

The motion was rejected with a majority vote of 44-12.

Shortly afterwards, Kudu raised the issue again at the Parliament, this time, in the form of a petition, signed by 47 individuals – all of them parents of persons of disabilities.

The four-page petition detailed the challenges facing persons with disabilities.

Health Ministry, on Tuesday, reported that Minister Nazim met with parents of children with disabilities to listen to their concerns.

Minister Nazim was accompanied by senior officials from Ministry of Social and Family Development and Hulhumale’ Hospital.

The meeting centered on discussions regarding the challenges faced in accessing healthcare services for people with disabilities such as therapy.

After hearing the concerns raised by the parents, Minister Nazim shared efforts being undertaken by the government to address the issues at hand and possible solutions to them.

Speaking at an MDP parliamentary group press conference held after Tuesday’s parliamentary sitting, Kudu highlighted the public’s difficulties in accessing therapy services. He noted that approvals meant to be granted within 14 days are now taking over a month.

Vaikaradhoo MP Hussain Ziyadh (Fittey), who also spoke at the press conference, pointed out that once a report containing details about the child is submitted to the Finance Ministry, a one-year budget is approved. He added that parents are then notified via message, and the allocated funds are intended to be disbursed every three months.

However, he emphasized current delays in the disbursement process, stating that funds are now only being released by the end of the third month. Additionally, he noted that the approval process itself is experiencing delays, now taking around one and a half months.