SAARC Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS Centre (STAC)
PRESS RELEASE
In compliance with the decisions of the Thirty-Second Meeting of the Governing Board of the SAARC Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS Centre (STAC), a SAARC Regional MDP on Monitoring and Evaluation of TB and HIV/AIDS, 29-31 October, 2025 is began in Male, Maldives in hybrid mode with following objectives;
i) To enhance understanding of the basic concepts and approaches for M&E and information management
ii) To develop understanding of indicators, enhance skills to develop them or choose the appropriate ones for their programme
iii) To develop skills for employing tools and techniques for designing and implementing M&E system for their programmes.
The inauguration programme was graced by the following Dignitaries:
• Deputy Minister for Health – Hon’ble Ahmed Hamdhan Nasir, Ministry of Health, Government of Maldives.
• Director General – Dr. Ahmad Ashraf, DGHS, Deputy Director General- Mr. Ibrahim Nishan Ahmed, DGHS, Ministry of Health, Government of Maldives.
• Director- Ms. Sana Saleem (Chairperson of Governing Board of STAC), Health Protection Agency, Ministry of Health, Government of Maldives.
• Dr. Anuj Bhattachan, Director, SAARC TB and HIV/AIDS Centre
The participants attended by Dr. Ariful Raham, MO, MBDC and Dr. Faiza Mukarrama, OSD, Directorate General of Health Services, Bangladesh; Ms. Rinchen Dema (Asst. M&E Officer, NTCP) and Mr. Deki Phuntsho (Program Officer, NACP) Ministry of Health, Government of Bhutan and Dr. Mariyam Hisham, MO, IGMH, Dr. Quraisha Haneef, Consultant in Internal Medicine of ADK Hospital, Dr. Aminath Munaz, Consultant in Internal Medicine, ADK Hospital, Dr. Aminath Munaz, Consultant in Internal Medicine and Ms. Hawwa Shama Hassan Rasheed, Government of Maldives participated physically in the programme and Mr. Atif Hussain Soomro, HR Officer (CMU) and Dr. Faheem Jan, Research Officer (TB) and Dr. Pramitha Shanthilatha, Director NPTCD, Government
Dr. Anuj Bhattachan, Director of the SAARC Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS Centre delivered his welcome remarks and stated that despite of remarkable progress, the national programmes continue facing the issues of underreporting, resource constraints, and management of monitoring and evaluation issues, which can only be addressed through strong monitoring and evaluation systems. These systems are essential not only for tracking progress, but also for identifying gaps, informing policies, and improving the quality and impact of interventions. This Regional Management Development Programme (MDP) provides a valuable platform for capacity building, knowledge exchange, and regional uniformity.
As per the agenda, course will be facilitated by Dr. Roshan Sampath, Dr. Afzal Ibrahim and Ms. Sana Saleem, Director of Health Protection Agency. The expected outcomes the training is “the participants can design and implement monitoring and evaluation plans with key concepts and approaches in M&E and information management by understanding, developing and using indicators and performance standards (input, process, output, impact)”.
Dr. Anuj Bhattachan
Director
SAARC Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS Centre (STAC)
29th October, 2025, Male, Maldives
