The Journey of Promise and Progress for Children
As we conclude the second quarter of 2025, I am pleased to share the meaningful progress we’ve made towards our shared vision for children, young people, and families across Maldives.
This quarter, we marked National Children’s Day under the theme ‘For Every Child, a Family’. Together with our partners, we carried out Kudhinnaa Gaathun – Aharemen Beynunvaa Rah visits to key islands, engaging directly with communities. These visits accelerated our efforts to increase the ‘Friends of UNICEF’ community and build more child-friendly and climate-resilient islands where every child feels safe, supported, and included.
To ensure that every child is safe and protected, we organised the National Juvenile Justice Conference, in collaboration with the Prosecutor General’s Office. This landmark event brought together key stakeholders to advance a compassionate, rehabilitative and child- and youth-friendly justice system in Maldives.
During this quarter, we also celebrated the Global Parenting Month, recognising the essential role of families in nurturing a child’s growth and development. We also convened the second Collective Impact Platform for Adolescent Girls, a multi-sectoral initiative that brought partners together to address the unique challenges faced by adolescent girls and identified joint actions to enhance the support and opportunities they need to thrive.
Looking ahead, we are excited to hold our annual Youth Track to COP30, a vital platform that will amplify the voices of young climate leaders from Maldives, ensuring that they are empowered to meaningfully contribute to climate dialogue and action at the global stage.
We also look forward to commemorating key youth-focused observances in the coming months, including World Youth Skills Day (15 July) and International Youth Day (12 August). These moments serve as important opportunities to celebrate young people’s contributions, spotlight their challenges, and reaffirm our commitment to investing in their potential.
Further, in response to evolving global priorities and cuts to global humanitarian and development assistance, all UNICEF offices including the Maldives Country Office embarked on a Future Focus Initiative this quarter. This initiative aims to review our programmes and functions to make them more agile, adaptable and cost-effective to ensure we continue to deliver for children and support the Government to advance the child rights agenda as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
As we welcome the second half of 2025, I extend my sincere gratitude to all our partners and supporters for your continuous engagement – together, we will continue our efforts to build a Maldives where every child and young person is safe, healthy, educated, and empowered.
Dr. Edward Addai
UNICEF Representative to Maldives
National Children's Day 2025
Building a Healthier Tomorrow
To ensure that every child and their families have access to the care they need to thrive, we co-organised a health fair with the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) and other partners in Hulhumale’ to promote health education, early detection and screenings.
Kudhinnaa Gaathun Visits
In line with National Children’s Day, we conducted visits to pathfinder zones of our ‘Kudhinnaa Gaathun - Aharemen Beynunvaa Rah initiative including Raa Meedhoo, Baa Eydhafushi, Vaavu Felidhoo, Laamu Gan, Fuvamulah City and Addu City. We engaged with island and atoll councils to discuss further ways to safeguard the rights of every child as well as conducted programmatic interventions.
We also held the Kudhinna Gaathun – Aharumen Beynunvaa Rah Forum in Addu City, bringing together stakeholders to discuss emerging issues, programme interventions and areas of collaboration to address the challenges faced by children and adolescents from different wards of the city. Additionally, individual meetings were also held with different community leaders to further discuss and develop a way forward on priority programme areas.
Beleniveriyaa: Positive Parenting
Beleniveriyaa Parenting Sessions
From January to June 2025, we have had more than 30 parenting sessions reaching over 3035 mothers and 430 fathers.
As part of our continued efforts to support parents and caregivers, two virtual parenting sessions were also conducted this quarter – focusing on immunization and developmental milestones.
The first session on immunization in line with World Immunization Week aimed to strengthen awareness on the importance of timely vaccinations and build trust in routine immunization. The session focusing on development milestones provided parents with information and practical guidance that will help them support their children’s growth and development in the early years.
Beleniveriyaa Facilitator Trainings
Within this quarter, we initiated facilitator trainings of the Beleniveriyaa programme planned for this year. The first two trainings were held this quarter in Male’ City and Baa Atoll.
To date, we have trained 192 facilitators across the country including teachers, school counselors, PTA members, social workers, public health workers, council and WDC members, police officers, civil society members as well as staff of the Department of Juvenile Justice and National Drug Agency.
Beleniveriyaa YouTube Playlist
As part of our efforts to reach more parents and supporting parents through digital content on parenting, we have now compiled a series of videos on positive parenting approaches and tips for parents.
Kaigen Hin’gamaa & Kihineh?: Health & Well-being
World Health Day 2025
To mark this year’s World Heath Day, we partnered with health facilities and carried out a series of events throughout the month of April, including health screenings in Baa Eydhafushi, Addu, Kaigen Hingamaa session in V.Felidhoo, and a 3K run with the Kulhudhuffushi Regional Hospital (KRH) to promote healthy practices and community-wide well-being. Further, at central level, a health fair was held in Male’, in collaboration with The Maldives National University (MNU) and WHO.
Strengthening Immunization for Every Child
Together with the Health Protection Agency (HPA), we convened stakeholders for a national-level workshop to strengthen vaccine management, including service delivery, cold chain systems and data management.
We are also actively supporting the Government of Maldives in the upcoming introduction of the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) and Rotavirus vaccine into the national immunization program, scheduled for the end of the year.
In coordination with WHO, Ministry of Health, HPA, and key partners, we are also supporting the development of the National Immunization Strategy (2025–2029). The strategy will define national priorities, costed interventions, and risk mitigation measures to strengthen immunization systems, improve efficiency, and ensure long-term sustainability – so that every child, everywhere, is protected.
Mental Health Action Day
We organised a community reading of the ‘Resilient Friends’ storybook with students of Ghaazee School to mark Mental Health Action Day. The book is a simple guide developed in partnership with the National Mental Health Department which helps children to understand their emotions and face everyday challenges with courage and kindness.
Wellbeing Hangouts
During this quarter, three Wellbeing Hangouts were conducted in partnership with the Society for Health Education (SHE) and the Maldives Girl Guides Association focused on promoting mental well-being, self-care practices among adolescent girls and young changemakers.
Another Wellbeing Hangout was held on World Thalassemia Day, which provided a safe and empathetic environment for young people living with thalassemia. The session enabled participants to connect with one another, share lived experiences and build emotional resilience through support and meaningful conversations.
Promoting Active Lifestyles for Children
As part of our efforts to promote safe sports and inclusive, physical activity amongst children and young people, we partnered with Swim Maldives, Dhiraagu and the Male’ City Council for the Dhiraagu Male’ Open Swimming Competition 2025.
Climate Resilient Actions
World Environment Day Cleanup
In collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism and Environment and partners, we organised a community-wide clean-up initiative with 150 participants, aimed at promoting environmental responsibility amongst children and young people. A total of 264.9kg was collected within 40 minutes, including 65.9kg recyclable plastic.
Thank you to our clean-up partners, The Scout Association of Maldives, Maldives Girl Guides Association, Parley Maldives, ARC Maldives and Aloha Ufaa.
Speaking Easy: Climate Edition Podcast
We launched the first episodes of the Speaking Easy: Climate Edition podcast – a podcast series hosted by children. The series brings in technical experts in the sector as well as young people leading climate action to explore and discuss the challenges and the opportunities in tackling the climate crisis, sharing personal stories, local perspectives, and calls to action.
Baaruveri: Developing & Engaging Young People
Career Guidance Sessions
This quarter, UNICEF held career guidance sessions in Raa Meedhoo, Vaavu Keyodhoo, Vaavu Felidhoo and Vaavu Fulidhoo, aiming to equip young people with necessary skills and knowledge to step into the world of employment.
Quarterly Youth Reference Group Meeting
Members of our Youth Reference Group gathered for their second quarterly meeting, creating space to reflect on progress of the last quarter including their advocacy journey in important areas such as the National Juvenile Justice Conference and World No-Tobacco Day Panel Discussions, and to align on priorities for the coming months, includin celebrating World Youth Skills Day on 15 July and International Youth Day on 12 August.
Regional Youth Representation
We are proud to have four young people from our youth cohort – Aby, Yania, Zul & Shairaf – be selected to join the UNICEF Regional Young People’s Action Team, representing Maldivian voices in regional dialogues. Additionally, our Youth Reference Group (YRG) member, Zarah has also been selected as part of the YPAT, representing Bangladesh.
Critical Thinking for Young People
We facilitated a session on critical thinking and problem-solving for members of our youth cohort, helping them to build key analytical skills for civic participation and leadership.
imaGen Ventures in Male’ City
During this quarter, the imaGen Ventures workshop – a Generation Unlimited initiative – was held in Male’ City, equipping young people aged 16 to 24 with practical design-thinking and entrepreneurial training, mentorship, and funding support to develop innovative climate solutions for their communities.
Youth Lead National Dialogues on Health and Juvenile Justice
This quarter, members of our youth cohort actively engaged in national conversations on child protection and health.
At the National Juvenile Justice Conference, the youth-led session brought forward the voices and experiences of young people, reinforcing the importance of child-centred approaches and meaningful youth participation in shaping services that impact them.
In commemoration of World No Tobacco Day, the youth-led panel created space for open dialogue on the impact of tobacco use, encouraging peer-led advocacy for healthier communities.
No Tobacco Campaign
In line with the Maldives’ generational ban on tobacco enacted on 3 June 2025, a new campaign was launched bringing together young people to shift attitudes on tobacco use. The campaign focuses on creating a tobacco-free future through social media outreach and youth-driven advocacy.
Empowering Youth to Lead on Climate Action
In the lead-up to the International Conference of Youth on Climate Change (IOCCY), our Climate Guardians came together for the Local Conference of Youth, which provided a platform for young people to voice their priorities and co-develop a national youth statement on climate change.
Through meaningful participation, our Climate Guardians are not only raising awareness but also strengthening their civic leadership skills to influence climate action at national and global levels.
Kaamiyaabu: Education & Learning
Supporting Digital-based Pathways to Learning
Under our partnership with the Ministry of Education and Google for Education, we continued to support the national digital learning agenda through the ‘TechPath’ initiative. During this quarter, we visited Raa Atoll Education Centre (Raa Meedhoo), Haa Dhaalu Atoll Education Centre (Kulhudhuffushi City), and Haa Dhaalu Nolhivaram School to monitor progress and provide supportive supervision. The visits also helped deepen contextual understanding and strengthen collaboration among key stakeholders.
As part of the TechPath initiative, a two-day training on Google Workspace and Design Thinking was conducted, which equipped 35 teachers from 14 schools with practical skills to create engaging, inclusive, and interactive digital content for their classrooms. Teachers explored tools and strategies to enhance productivity, support differentiated instruction and promote online safety. The training also fostered collaboration through hands-on lesson planning and resource sharing.
Life Promoting School Workshop
In collaboration with Salaah'udhdheen School, we facilitated a workshop to promote psychosocial wellbeing and life skills education, contributing to the development of safe, inclusive, and life-promoting learning environments for every child.
Rakkaatheri: Prevention & Response to Violence against Children
National Juvenile Justice Conference 2025
In partnership with the Prosecutor General’s Office, we held the National Juvenile Justice Conference 2025 – Empowering Change: Advancing Juvenile Justice and Safeguarding Children’s Rights – engaging policymakers, technical partners from relevant sectors and young people to discuss and develop strategies with an intention to create a more child-focused juvenile justice system in Maldives. The outcome of the discussions will guide the government in strengthening legislation, policies and practices.
The First Lady of Maldives, Madam Saajidha Ibrahim participated as the Chief Guest as well as in the panel discussion ‘Juvenile Justice: Hopes and Expectations’, which focused on ways to make the juvenile justice system more child-friendly, from the perspective of parents and teachers.
Highlights also include panel discussions by judges from the Juvenile Court, Family Court, Criminal Court, Drug Court and Supreme Court, as well as by members of UNICEF Maldives’ youth cohort, providing their views and ideas on strengthening the juvenile justice system.
When the juvenile justice system fails to respond effectively, the result is not just a policy gap – it is a failure of protection. We risk re-traumatizing already vulnerable children and pushing them further into cycles of harm.” – UNICEF Representative to Maldives, Dr. Edward Addai at the conference’s opening ceremony.
Child Safe Tourism
As part of the 'Rakkaatheri' flagship, we also conducted a child safeguarding training for staff at Cinnamon Dhonveli Maldives, aiming to equip resort management and staff with essential skills and knowledge to create a safe environment for children and protect them from all forms of violence and exploitation within the tourism industry.
Rehabilitation and Support Programme
We continued to monitor the progress and support stakeholders to implement the Rehabilitation and Support Programme for children in conflict with the law in Fuvahmulah City. Based on the learnings and experience from the initial programme, we have now expanded the programme to Hulhumale Phase II.
Social Policy
Development of the Situation Analysis of Children in Maldives 2025
We are currently in the process of developing our ‘Situation Analysis of Children in Maldives 2025’ report to inform the upcoming Maldives Country Programme Document 2027-2031. In partnership with the Government and stakeholders, this analysis will assess child rights and well-being through a rights-based, equity-focused, and gender-sensitive lens – examining progress, challenges, and disparities, evaluate policy effectiveness amid economic constraints, and highlight the needs of children most at risk of being left behind.
Stakeholder Workshop on Child-related Indicators for SDGs
As part of the preparatory work to develop our next 5-year Country Programme Document 2026 – 2031, we facilitated a multi-sectoral workshop with national stakeholders. The objective of the workshop was to have an evidence-based understanding of where Maldives is succeeding and where the country needs to do more to achieve the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs, especially focusing on child-related indicators in the context of the new and emerging child rights issues.
Leave No One Behind
UNICEF Maldives, in collaboration with the National Social Protection Agency (NSPA), is working to strengthen the disability registry and address the data gap of children with disabilities. To address this, a pilot is underway in Kudhinaa Gaathun islands to align NSPA’s registry with IBAMA’s vulnerability mapping, with support from the respective island councils.
Communications, Advocacy, Resource Mobilisation & Partnerships
Communicating Child-centered Climate Action
This quarter, UNICEF Maldives continued to highlight the importance of climate action for children and young people.
To commemorate World Environment Day, a joint op-ed was released by the Minister of Tourism and Environment. H.E Thoriq Ibrahim and UNICEF Representative to Maldives, Dr. Edward Addai, calling for urgent, united and child-focused action in Maldives.
This year’s theme, 'Ending Plastic Pollution,' is particularly urgent for Small Island Developing States like Maldives, where the ocean is both our lifeline and our frontline. In Maldives, plastic pollution is not only an environmental concern, but also an issue that affects the well-being of children and young people.
The UNICEF Representative to Maldives, Dr. Edward Addai and UNICEF Representative to Nepal, Ms. Alice Akunga jointly featured in an interview by UN News, to highlight how the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) can be child-sensitive in two very contextually different countries, and to highlight the role of young people’s participation in the NDC development process and beyond.
Children are the future caretakers of their land and communities. A climate plan that ignores children’s realities will fail everyone. But when children are healthy, educated, and included, society thrives.
Additionally, a story was published by UNICEF Australia, highlighting the work of Climate Guardians in Maldives, along with an article by UNICEF South Asia, spotlighting Maldives’ achievement as the first country in South Asia to finalise its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), with the inclusion of young voices at its centre.
Social Media Engagement
This quarter, our social media platforms featured impactful videos commemorating key occasions, including National Children’s Day, International Mother’s Day, International Day of Play, International Father’s Day and Global Parenting Month – reaching over 5,000 people with messages on child rights, care, and well-being.
We also worked with UNICEF South Asia to co-create stories with our Climate Guardians – Zarah and Aby – further amplifying their stories and voices.
To mark World Health Day and World Immunization Week, we engaged in social media messaging throughout the month of April to raise awareness on the importance of positive physical and mental health and vaccination for every child.
Stay informed with 'Kihineh?'
We continued to rollout our collaborative work with the Government of Maldives, led by the National Mental Health Department to address and reduce stereotypes and stigma surrounding mental health.
Follow 'Kihineh?' on X, Instagram, and Facebook and stay tuned for important tips, resources, and information on how to promote and support mental well-being in our communities.
High-level Advocacy & Engagement
We engaged in strategic meetings with key partners, including the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC/MRC) to strengthen collaboration on child-focused development and humanitarian efforts in Maldives.
UNICEF Representative to Maldives, Dr. Edward Addai also met with the new Commissioner of Police, Ismail Naveen and discussed areas for further collaboration between Maldives Police Service and UNICEF Maldives, centred around creating safer communities and rehabilitation of children in conflict with the law. Dr. Addai also joined a high-level engagement with the First Lady on juvenile justice during the National Juvenile Justice Conference 2025.
In addition to this, he also met with representatives from the Embassy of India in Maldives to explore areas of partnerships.
Second Collective Impact Platform for Adolescent Girls
We partnered with Maldives Girl Guides Association and UNFPA Maldives to organize the second workshop of the Collective Impact Platform for Adolescent Girls. This platform mobilizes government agencies, civil society organizations, private sector and young people to create a structured and collaborative network to identify existing policies, ongoing projects and service gaps as well as develop solutions for adolescent girls in Maldives.
This edition aimed to collaborate with our multi-sectoral partners to address existing issues and form solutions that empower girls and young women to transition to decision-making roles. During this session, the platform proposed the development of a leadership programme for girls, which is currently underway.
Advancing Partnerships for Children
UNICEF Maldives also acquired support from our regional and global offices to accelerate our partnerships and resource mobilization agenda this quarter. In this regard, we hosted a mission by Evanthia Kavvadia Starmer from UNICEF’s Innovative Financing for Children team based in Geneva and our Regional Climate Programme Specialist, Keshav Das to engage with Government partners and our team to better position children at the heart of the country’s development financing agenda.
Additionally, our Regional Partnerships Manager, Saadgi Sanjay Rajani visited MCO and engaged with Government and diplomatic community partners on ongoing partnerships to explore mutual areas of interest and collaboration.
Website Revamp
We undertook a full refresh of the UNICEF Maldives website to make it more relevant and accessible. The revamped website features updated content and improved navigation, making it easier for partners and young people to stay informed and engage with our work for every child.
Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation
HACT Trainings
To ensure smoother running of UNICEF’s operations, we provided HACT capacity-building sessions to government partners and local councils, including the Ministry of Education, Department of Inclusive Education, National Institute of Education, Quality Assurance Department, Ministry of Social and Family Development, Department of Juvenile Justice, the Prosecutor General’s Office, Baa Eydhafushi Council, Raa Meedhoo Council and Fuvahmulah City Council.
Mid-year Review
We completed programme and financial reviews for Q1 and Q2, ensuring that UNICEF’s programmatic implementation remains on track and aligned with results.
The mid-year review reflected on the achievements of our Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and helped refine our work plans for the remainder of 2025.
Team UNICEF
This quarter, we bid farewell to Watsala Jayamanna, who was supporting the UNICEF Maldives Country Office on a stretch assignment. Originally from the UNICEF Sri Lanka Country Office, Watsala supported our emergency preparedness and response formulation work.
We also said good-bye to our young interns, Ziva and Raaia, who contributed meaningfully to our work in education, youth engagement, and climate action. We thank them for their valuable contributions to the team and wish them the very best in their next chapters.
MCO 5 Million Step Challenge
In line with World Health Day and the theme of ‘Health’ for the month of April, our Health & Nutrition team launched a series of staff well-being activities. A highlight was the ‘5 Million Step Challenge’, aimed at promoting physical activity and team spirit.
Using the StepUp app to track progress, 25 staff members walked, jogged, and made active choices throughout the month, ultimately reaching the collective goal of five million steps in 30 days. The initiative encouraged healthier habits and reflected UNICEF’s commitment to practising the behaviours we advocate for in our communities.
Staff Capacity Building
The quarterly learning & well-being week of this quarter primarily focused staff-wide sessions relating to our upcoming situational analysis of children in Maldives, along with programmatic discussions related to advocacy, child rights, Kudhinnaa Gaathun initiative and more.
Greening Initiative
During this quarter, our Operations team has taken meaningful steps to enhance the office environment by constructing a disability-friendly ramp and introducing new greening initiatives.
Looking Ahead
As we close the second quarter of 2025, we reflect on our continued commitment to building safe, healthy environments that empower every child to thrive.
By collaborating closely with partners across different sectors, we continue to advance initiatives that create meaningful progress towards the physical, mental, and social well-being of children and young people, so that they can grow, learn, and reach their full potential – now and in the future.
Upcoming Key Dates & Events in Q3 2025
July
- World Population Day (11 July)
- World Youth Skills Day (15 July)
August
- World Breastfeeding Week (1-7 August)
- Youth Track to COP30 (3-6 August)
- International Youth Day (12 August)
September
- Suicide Prevention Day (10 September)
- International Day of Sign Languages (23 September)