Ibrahim Haleem Appointed Chairman Of New State Pharmaceutical Supply Corporation

Ibrahim Abdul Razzaq Haleem, Chief Executive Officer of the Malé City Group of Hospitals, has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of the newly established State Pharmaceutical and Medical Supply Corporation Limited.

The appointment was announced by the Privatisation and Corporatisation Board yesterday. The company, formed by President Dr Mohamed Muizzu on 9 September, is intended to centralise and strengthen the national system for procuring and distributing medicines and medical consumables.

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Dr Shah Mahir, the former Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Dharumavantha Hospital, was appointed Managing Director of the corporation on 14 September. In an interview last October, he indicated that the company would require three months to become operational due to the transfer of responsibilities from the State Trading Organisation, which currently manages pharmaceutical imports.

Public concerns continue over the limited availability of certain medicines despite the corporation’s establishment. Health Minister Abdulla Nazim told Parliament on 26 November that the corporation’s responsibilities extend beyond importation, noting that the Maldives has the capacity to develop domestic pharmaceutical production and build a specialised industry.

When the new corporation was formed, the State Trading Organisation remained a fully state-owned enterprise responsible for bulk imports and nationwide distribution of medical drugs, consumables, and equipment, with its pharmacies operating on every inhabited island.