Health Minister: 60% of doctors in Maldives are foreigners

Sixty percent of the doctors working in Maldives are foreign doctors, Health Minister Geela Ali said on Monday.

Responding to a question by PNC MP for Mahchangolhi Central constituency Ahmed Zameer, Geela said the country’s health services are being delivered with a large number of foreign workers.

“I would say 60 percent of the doctors are already foreign doctors working in our service,” Geela said.

According to last year’s statistics, more than 12,000 health workers are employed in Maldives. Of them, more than 7,000 are service providers working in the atolls, while over 5,000 are based in urban areas.

She said more than 3,400 foreigners are currently working in the health sector.

Geela said the aim is to increase the number of Maldivians providing health services. Training is already being conducted through the National University, she noted.

Every year, many Maldivian doctors join the service after graduating. So far this year, 16 Maldivian doctors have joined Dharumavantha Hospital and IGMH after completing specialist training.