United Nations Resident Coordinator to the Maldives, Shoko Noda has said the Maldives has achieved several significant milestones since it became a UN member.
In an exclusive interview with Public Service Media (PSM), she said the Maldives together with the UN have achieved a lot in the modernization of the health system, education, poverty eradication, environment protection, disaster resilience and then also the recent democratisation process.
“We hope to remain a trusted partner of the Maldives. We are no longer a donor, because Maldives has done very well economically, Maldives is now a middle income country. So the UN’s role has changed from being just a donor to give money but more to provide technical assistance, also together to find out localised development solutions, so the nature of work, nature of the partnership is evolving as Maldives as Maldives is on the positive trajectory of development,” she added. The resident coordinator also noted the Maldives’ achievements in attaining the Millennium Development Goals, and acknowledged the country’s effective leadership role as the chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). “The Maldives can replicate its approach towards achieving the MDG targets to attain the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” Noda said.
She commended the Maldives for the significant milestones it had achieved over the past 51 years as a UN member, adding that despite being one of the smallest member states, the Maldives had shown that small countries could also make substantial contributions.
The UN agencies are supporting the Maldivian Government, independent institutions, and civil society organisations working at national and community level, and the UN Maldives is currently implementing a five-year development assistant framework in the Maldives, she noted.
The 2016-2020 United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), signed in 2015, focuses on Youth and Children, Gender, Governance, and Environment and Climate Change.
The Maldives became a member state of the United Nations on September 21, 1965. The nation became a member of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on the same date. It partners with 11 UN agencies, which supports the Government and communities, and work at national and community level. The UN’s major focus in the Maldives is ensuring the rights and empowerment of youth, children and women, facilitating in establishing gender equality, assisting in environment protection, climate resilience efforts and strengthening governance.