The Maldives has taken a major step forward in strengthening healthcare waste management with the official handover of new facilities, equipment, and clean-energy transport vehicles in Kaafu Dhiffushi on Tuesday.

The initiative, carried out by the Ministry of Health in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and supported by the Government of Japan, marks the completion of a USD 4.4 million project aimed at improving infectious waste management across Southwest Asia.

The programme, implemented from 2022 to 2025, focuses on enhancing safe, sustainable, and gender-responsive waste handling practices across health facilities in the Maldives.

As part of the project, 21 healthcare waste management facilities have been established nationwide, including the newly inaugurated centre in Dhiffushi.

Autoclaves were installed at Thuraakunu and Thakandhoo health centres, expanding the country’s capacity to process infectious waste safely.

The initiative also introduced 65 electric tricycles to support clean-energy waste transport between facilities, while 656 healthcare workers 90 percent of them women were trained in waste management protocols in collaboration with the World Health Organization.

To support digital transformation, 270 computers and 40 network switches were provided to enhance the national digitalized waste management system.

Additional medical equipment, including ECG machines and autoclaves, was also supplied to strengthen service continuity in health facilities.

Health Minister Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim, Japanese Ishigami Rumiko, and UNDP Resident Representative Adnan Cheema delivered remarks at the ceremony, reaffirming their shared commitment to building resilient and environmentally sustainable health systems.

Following the event, participants toured the newly completed waste management building in Dhiffushi and viewed the equipment and electric vehicles now in operation across islands.

The Ministry of Health, UNDP, and the Government of Japan emphasized that they will continue collaborating to advance safer and more environmentally responsible healthcare services across the Maldives.