Malé, Maldives – Transparency Maldives has advised authorities against discriminating individuals in the ongoing national level vaccination campaign.
The NGO has called for the government to be transparent in their vaccination efforts and advised that expatriatesb – who make up a signifanct portion of the Maldivian population, to not be excluded from immunization programs.
Documented and undocumented should not be left out of vaccination, and frontline expats, and senior at-risk expats should be given priory during vaccination, much like Maldivians, said the NGO.
In a tweet, Transparency Maldives said that controlling corruption is essential to ensuring a fair & efficient response to emergencies, and that increasing transparency in government spending can lead to fairer societies that are much more inclusive and better prepared for the next such global crisis.
Health Emergency Operation Center (HEOC)’s Spokesperson Dr. Nazla Rafeeq has previously said that full public immunity for the country is the top priority, therefore everyone living in Maldives including locals and expats will get the opportunity also get the Covid-19 vaccine for free.
She further informed that the vaccination expenses of all residents will be covered by the government. She added that during the pandemic the government has also covered the expenses for treatment of Covid-19 positive expats in the Maldives.
While latest publications reveal that more than 16,000 individuals have received the Covid-19 vaccine in the Maldives, it does not specify how many of these individuals are expat workers- who have been described by many as a very important part of the Maldivian economy.
