President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has made serious allegations that previous governments tried to get the people sick and left the people to fall victim to cancer.
"Preventive healthcare, public health care, is a very important policy of ours. Some previous governments only looked to take care of people when they got sick. Sometimes it seemed like they tried to get the people sick," he said at a press conference at the President's Office.
"The lifestyle has let cancer and other diseases affect people. So there are a lot of non-communicable diseases in the country. It seemed like they were trying to make the people sick. There was not much effort to provide services when people got sick, either. There is no centre anywhere. There is no good hospital," he added.
Muizzu's remark came amid a crisis at the government's main hospital's NICU in Male' due to the spread of a dangerous bacteria caused by unsanitary conditions.
Five newborns who were being treated on ventilators have contracted the disease. The hospital was out of disinfectant when the disease spread and was using bleach dissolved in water.
The outbreak was caused by Burkholderia cepacia. In health care facilities, the disease is usually spread through medical devices. It is a disease that is unlikely to spread if strict hygiene measures are taken. It is a dangerous disease that is resistant to many types of drugs.
