Maldives Sees Significant Rise in Locally Performed Surgeries

The number of surgeries performed in the Maldives has seen a significant rise over a one year period.

According to recently published statistics for 2022 and 2023 by the Ministry of Health, 19,732 surgeries were conducted in 2022, increasing to 20,593 the following year.

In 2023, 16,163 surgeries were performed in the Male’ area, including Hulhumale’ and Villimale’. Excluding Male’, the second-highest number of surgeries were performed in Addu Atoll, with 1,031 procedures.

The data shows that 71 percent of all surgeries were conducted at tertiary hospitals, while 17 percent were performed at atoll hospitals.

When broken down by gender, 10,301 operations were performed on men, compared to 10,292 on women. Of cardiovascular surgeries and emergency surgeries, 76 percent and 63 percent were conducted on male patients respectively.

The number of surgeries performed at private hospitals also increased. In 2023, 47 percent of all surgeries were performed at private hospitals, including neurosurgery and dermatology. However, 90 percent of major surgeries such as cardiology operations were performed at government hospitals.

The statistics reveal that the most number of surgeries were performed on individuals aged between 35 and 64.

The government is working on expanding health services in the atolls, with added effort to enhance the quality of services provided and the introduction of new services.