State Pharmaceutical Company Begins Importing Medicines

The State Pharmaceutical and Medical Supply Corporation Limited (SPHMC) has begun importing medicines, six months after the company was established to manage pharmaceutical supply in the Maldives.

SPHMC was formed on 9 September last year as part of government efforts to strengthen the country’s medicine supply system. According to Health Minister Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim, the company has now started importing medicines and distributing them to health facilities in the atolls.

The minister stated during the Raajje Miadhu programme that the company has commenced operations and that certain medicines are already being imported and supplied to islands, with further updates on progress expected to be shared soon.

The minister also noted that the creation of a dedicated pharmaceutical company allows the government to better identify systemic challenges in the medicine supply chain and assign specialised teams to address them.

Shortages of medicines for common illnesses have long been a public concern in the Maldives, with frequent reports of stockouts and related complaints submitted to People’s Majlis. These challenges continued even after SPHMC was established. At the time, Managing Director Dr Shah Mahir stated that delays were due to the time required to transfer all pharmaceutical-related functions from State Trading Organization (STO) to the newly formed company.

STO, a fully state-owned enterprise, has historically managed the bulk import and sale of medicines, medical consumables and equipment in the Maldives. STO pharmacies currently operate in all inhabited islands across the country.

Earlier this year, STO also began the process of transferring all its pharmacies to SPHMC as part of the restructuring of the national pharmaceutical supply system.

On 22 July 2024, the government announced that it would begin selling medicines approved by European health authorities for the first time in the Maldives as part of efforts to improve access to high-quality pharmaceuticals. The government also stated that it had begun procuring bulk medicines through a quality-based pooled procurement mechanism in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).