The health care
delivery system of Maldives is organized into a three-tier system with island
level primary health centers, a higher level of health facilities with respect
to provision of maternal, new born care and specialty care at an atoll/regional
level and tertiary care level. To ensure access to healthcare, health facilities
are established in each inhabited island even if the population numbers are
considerably low. The services of each healthcare facility are graded and
depending on the grading of the hospital and health center, medical specialty
care is provided. So far, four tertiary level hospitals have been established
in the country. Two of these hospitals are privately run hospitals; ADK
Hospital and Treetop Hospital, while the other two hospitals are government
hospitals; Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) and Addu Equatorial Hospital
(AEH). In addition, an atoll hospital with specialist doctors has been
established in each atoll and each of them is graded and depending on the
grading of the hospital, medical specialty care is provided. The public health
field is broad and diverse, bringing together experts with very different
backgrounds and perspectives. Through close collaboration, healthcare
researchers, public health professionals, government officials, community
stakeholders, and others seek to mitigate the impact of health problems, from
heart disease and diabetes to infectious diseases and environmental hazards. In
this regard, National programs at HPA focuses on creating awareness, developing
guidelines and surveillance of public health areas.