Ooredoo donated three sea ambulances to Ministry of Health in the Maldives at a special ceremony held at Izzuddheen Jetty Area on July 18. The donation comes following Ooredoo’s earlier commitment to support the Government of the Maldives work to provide quality healthcare to its citizens, Peninsula Qatar reported.

The donation aims to support the nation’s existing sea ambulance fleet, which operates from across the country and plays a vital role in delivering healthcare to people living throughout the highly dispersed islands, according to a report released by Gulf Times.

The report further mentioned that the event was attended by Ooredoo Group chairman HE Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohamed bin Saud al-Thani, Maldives Minister of Health Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim, Minister of Economic Development Mohamed Saeed, Minister of State for Defence and National Security Mohamed Zuhair, Vice-Chief of Defence Force Brigadier General Ahmed Shahid, Ooredoo Group deputy CEO Waleed al-Sayed, Ooredoo Maldives chairman and Ooredoo Group chief officer - small and medium business unit Khalid al-Mahmoud, and a number of key stakeholders from the government of Maldives.

Ibrahim said, “Maldives, being a small island nation with a unique geographical topography, is home to a highly dispersed population, resulting in significant challenges in the provision of healthcare services to the facilities inclusive to all islands. The country has made significant progress in its health status and development indicators over the last decades.

“One of the key focuses of the current government is to provide access to quality health services in an affordable, equitable, and accessible manner. The government of Maldives introduced sea ambulances in 2015 to ease the transportation of patients across the country. Ooredoo has been exceptional in its support for the people in the Maldives and we appreciate their initiative in recognising the significance of the issue and adding state-of-the-art vessels to our sea ambulance fleet.”

HE Sheikh Abdulla said, “We are delighted to add three sea ambulances to the nation’s emergency response fleet over water. Today, we have handed over two of these sea ambulances, with the third to follow before the end of the year. Improving access to basic healthcare for communities is something we are passionate about, and it is our sincere hope that our donation can help bring ease to communities who require urgent healthcare, and medical attention, outside of their home islands.
“We look forward to taking this partnership further by introducing our global mobile health clinics programme in the Maldives, with the support of Ministry of Health, Maldives National Defense Force, and Maldivian Red Crescent. Across our markets, mobile health clinics are making a difference in delivering healthcare to those who need it the most, and we hope to achieve the same results here in the Maldives.”

These ambulances are 40 feet long with two patient beds which can hold up to 12 passengers at a time. They are also installed with a state-of-the-art navigation and communication systems. Additionally, they are fully-equipped with two oxygen cylinders along with other items of essential safety equipment.

Ooredoo Maldives will keep on working together with local stakeholders in order to improve the digital lives of its customers and facilitate new and exciting opportunities for social and economic development in the Maldives.

(Cover image credit:Peninsula Qatar)

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Khadiza Begum

Content Writer

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