Mobile Laboratory Services has been launched in Laamu Atoll in order to expand the health services in all inhabited islands in the Maldives. The service was launched by the Minister of Health Abdulla Ameen.
How does mobile laboratory services work? Samples are collected in islands without laboratory services and then these samples are transported to neighboring islands in order to be tested. According to the health ministry, all of the islands in Laamu Atoll without a laboratory are now equipped to collect blood and urine samples.
According to Minister Ameen, currently, 90 islands are equipped with medical laboratory services. As a result, this deprives the majority of the population of getting basic laboratory services in their islands. Minister further stated that proactive change to identify and treat in the early stages would assist the Maldives to reduce the rate of death from non-communicable diseases in the Maldives from 84% to a much lower rate.