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Millennium Development Goals

Maldives was severely hit by the tsunami, which struck the Indian Ocean region in December 2004. According to the government, the damages set the country ‘back by two decades’ in terms of socio-economic development. One third of all Maldivians were directly affected as 20 of the 199 inhabited islands were ‘totally destroyed’. More than two years after the disaster, 10,000 Maldivians remain internally displaced. Although their living conditions have improved, housing reconstruction efforts have been delayed due to funding shortages. The restoration of livelihoods, infrastructure and sanitary conditions has also been affected by this funding shortage. Despite great challenges, the country has used the tsunami reconstruction as an opportunity to ‘build back better’. In this sense, the post-tsunami aid can have a positive impact on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the Maldives.

coconut seller © Zulaal Zaeem

Prior to the tsunami disaster, the country recorded overall positive progress towards the MDGs. According to the recent progress report, the proportion of Maldivians living on under $1 a day was halved between 1994 and 2004, implying that the Goal relating to extreme poverty has already been achieved. However, many challenges remain especially the gap between rich and poor which is increasing rapidly between rural and urban areas. Acknowledging this, the Maldivian government has launched the Development for Sustainable Livelihoods (ADSL) programme. ADSL aims to promote sustainable livelihoods through decentralization, strong local governance structures and effective social mobilization at the local as well as national level.

Crafts, Maldives © Zulaal Zaeem

Malnutrition among children is another major development concern in the Maldives. Although the proportion of malnourished children declined from 45% in 1997 to 27% in 2004, this remains a central challenge for the country. Due to poor soil quality, agricultural activities in the country are limited and Maldivians are therefore highly dependent on imported foodstuff, which in turn renders them vulnerable to uncertainties in global commodity pricing and production. In the late 1990s, a local hydroponics project was initiated to address the problems of malnutrition in the country.

Issues of gender equality are also particularly relevant to the Maldivian context. Although Maldives is a highly patriarchal society, women have historically played an important role in Maldivian social and cultural life. The elimination of gender disparity in primary and secondary education is well underway. Women are employed in the government and manufacturing sectors and make up a large percentage of the agricultural workforce. Nevertheless, gender equality remains an area for improvement if the relevant MDG is to be achieved. Most poor households are headed by females. Furthermore, women are underrepresented in secondary and tertiary education as well as in political arenas such as the Maldivian parliament.

Politics

Apart from 15 years of Portuguese rule in the 1500s, Maldives has remained relatively autonomous throughout her history. In 1867 the country became a protectorate under the British. In 1968 a referendum abolished the Maldivian sultanate and the country became the Republic of Maldives. The first president, Ibrahim Nasir, reigned until 1978, when he was replaced by the current president, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. Gayoom is currently serving his sixth term in office, making him the longest serving political leader in Asia. Although generally considered a liberal and moderate voice on the Maldivian political scene, Gayoom has in recent years been heavily criticized for his autocratic rule.

Seeking to challenge the autocracy of Gayoom, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) was formed by a group of activists in 2001. It established itself in exile in Sri Lanka and it has become a powerful pressure group, bringing international attention to the undemocratic practices of the Gayoom regime. In response to national and international criticism, constitutional reforms were called for in 2004. A constituent assembly has been summoned and, despite factionalism within the assembly, the constitutional review is now underway. This process is to be completed by May 2007.

On January 22nd 2005, parliamentary elections were held in the Maldives. Although the government claimed the elections as free and fair, anti-government campaigners complained of irregularities and intimidation. According to the Commonwealth Expert Team which monitored the election, the election process in Maldives ‘must be made more transparent and fair to gain wider acceptability’. Several candidates supported by the MDP won seats in parliament and support for ‘reformists’ was particularly strong in the capital city Male.

In early June 2005, the parliament unanimously voted in favour of introducing multi-party democracy in the Maldives. In the aftermath of this decision, four political parties have registered; the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Justice Party (Adaalath Party - AP), Islamic Democratic Party (IDP) and the Maldivian People’s Party (Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party - DRP) which is headed by the current president. Although the MDP stands out as the most prominent opposition party, it has been weakened and marred by internal fissures. This led the party’s first leader, Ibrahim Ismail (Ibra), to resign in April 2006. Since then, MDP has been led by Ibrahim Hussain Zaki, a controversial politician who, according to analysts, has alienated many moderates within the party.

Maldives has an active civil society. All islands are, by law, required to have an Island Development Committee and a Women’s Development Committee. Although these committees work with varying degree of success, they are an important link between the government and local island communities. The two largest NGOs in the country, SHE and Fashan, are mainly concerned with Health Education, Youth and Women’s Issues.
Human Rights

Amnesty International reports that, in recent years, the country has detained over a dozen prisoners of conscience, some of whom have been held without charges and have suffered torture and ill-treatment in jail. In the past few years, incidents of human rights violations have led to popular uprisings and riots. In September 2003, a 22-year old prisoner Eevan Naseem, was killed by members of the National Security Service (NSS). This incident triggered civil unrest in Malé, the island capital, as well in Maafushi prison, where Naseem was incarcerated. In response to these incidents, the President established the National Human Rights Commission. In August 2006, the Commission received a constitutional mandate by an Act of Parliament, establishing its independence from the government.

In August 2004, thousands of Maldivians gathered in Malé, demanding the release of political prisoners. This was the first political demonstration of its kind in the country’s history. Since then, political demonstrations and opposition activity has become more common and visible. However the government response has remained repressive with frequent arrests of high profile opposition figures. Under mounting pressure both at home and from international human rights groups, the Gayoom regime has agreed to release a significant number of political prisoners and commit to multi-party elections in 2008.
Health

Maldives transportation © Zulaal Zaeem

The provision of health services to all Maldivians is difficult and expensive, due to the geography of the country. The islands are dispersed across 90 000 square kilometers and the transportation infrastructure is not well developed.

Rural populations therefore have limited access to hospitals and emergency care. Consequently maternal mortality remains high in the rural areas. Another major health concern is malnutrition, especially amongst children under 5 years of age. Maldives also has a high prevalence of the genetic blood disorder, Thalassaemia. WHO Maldives estimates that one sixth of the population are carriers of the disease and one in every 250 children is born with the full blown condition. Provision of health services to these children has been limited, though local NGOs such as the Society for Health Education (SHE) are involved in local screening projects and awareness campaigns.
Economy

The tsunami shattered the fragile Maldivian economy, causing damage equivalent to 64% of GDP. Both the tourism and fisheries sectors suffered widespread destruction and the national current account deficit doubled to 25% of GDP. The government is currently seeking to stabilize the economy by pursuing policies of fiscal stringency.

Fishing, Maldives © Zulaal Zaeem

The Maldivian economy is considered stable and buoyant. This is attributed to the development of the tourism and fisheries sectors, as well as favourable external conditions, aid flows and sound economic management. Nevertheless, the Maldivian economy is highly vulnerable, as both sectors can be severely affected by external shocks. The Maldivian government advocates a liberal trade environment and its policies have been, to a large extent, focused on the private sector. The legal structure for trade and investment is currently being reformed to further benefit the private sector and to promote a more transparent economic environment.

The first tourist resort opened in 1972 on Kurumba Island, in Malé atoll and since then the country has undergone tremendous economic and social change. More than a quarter of a million people visit Maldives annually. More than 70 islands are developed for tourism and in 2002 the industry contributed around 30% of National GDP. There has been both an increase in the intensity and extent of tourism in the last decade, with 90% of government tax revenues generated by the tourism sector. Although this undoubtedly contributes enormously to the local economy, there are concerns that the local workforce is not participating sufficiently in it. In some resorts, nearly two-thirds of employees are expatriate workers, mostly from neighbouring South Asian countries. The absence of minimum wage legislation and labour laws are also serious concerns.
Environment

Addu Atoll. Maldives © Karin Afeef

Maldives is one of the countries that is most vulnerable to global warming and rising sea levels. 80% of the land area is less than 1 meter above mean sea-level. Therefore even slight changes would have devastating consequences for the country. Understandably then, Maldives was one of the first countries to sign the Kyoto Protocol in 1998.

Increases in oceanic temperatures have also had serious environmental implications. In 1998, El Nino caused the temperatures in the Indian Ocean to increase by a few degrees, which resulted in the deaths of two-thirds of Maldivian coral reefs. Fortunately, these reefs are slowly showing signs of regeneration. Other environmental problems are beach erosion, high population density, deforestation, solid waste disposal and sanitation. Fresh water reserves are also very limited and the combination of overpopulation and rising sea levels increase the salinity of groundwater. Desalination plants, which provide alternatives to natural groundwater, are both expensive and unsustainable for small island communities. Environmental sustainability is also a concern for the flourishing tourism sector.
Information and Media

The Media in Maldives is heavily state-regulated and new press freedom legislation proposed in 2006 has met criticism for potentially reinforcing government powers. The government runs the national television and radio channels. Three daily newspapers, Haveeru, Miadhu and Aafathis are widely circulated. However, they are all subjected to government censorship to a certain extent. Local journalists writing critically of the government have been arrested and foreign journalists working for independent media groups have been expelled from the country. In the late 1990s, many underground newsletters and websites were published in opposition to the Maldivian government. Today the most prominent alternative Maldivian online news sources are Minivan News and the Dhivehi Observer.
Religion and Culture

Islam is a central pillar of Maldivian society and religion pervades the social and cultural life of the nation. The country converted to Islam in 1153 and Maldivians, most of whom are Sunni Muslims, take great pride in their Islamic heritage. There are strong cultural ties to the Middle East as well as to the Islamic states of East Asia. Maldives is considered a moderate Islamic nation.



Karin Afeef has worked for several Maldivian NGOs, focusing especially on youth, education and employment issues. She has just completed an MSc in Forced Migration at the University of Oxford.
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