Calling all Maldivians: help chart your country’s path and inform the next country partnership framework

For over four decades, the Maldives has benefited from the World Bank Group’s assistance – both financial and technical – in a multitude of sectors.  We have worked with successive Maldivian governments to expand education and social safety nets, streamline public finance, and build critical infrastructure that supports economic growth.

We are now helping the Maldives achieve its 2030 net zero energy goals by mobilizing private sector support to develop the country’s renewable energy generation and storage capacity and explore greener ways to supply power.  Modernizing the fisheries sector, the oldest and important economic activity in the archipelago, also features high on our engagement with the Maldives. Our support also extends to the Maldivian government’s efforts to develop resilient infrastructure, better manage solid waste, and build a modern workforce.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic upended lives, changed priorities, and transformed worldviews. The Maldives now faces new challenges, as well as unprecedented opportunities to build a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient economy.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the Maldives has received over $62 million in financial assistance from the International Development Association (IDA), which is one of the five institutions of the World Bank Group. With this support, the Government of Maldives increased the capacity of its health services to help protect the country’s population from the virus and to manage the shocks on its tourism-dependent economy. We have also helped over 22,000 Maldivians who lost their jobs or incomes due to the impacts of COVID-19, by giving them a monthly allowance to cover their necessities.

The Maldives now faces new challenges, as well as unprecedented opportunities to build a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient economy

We continue to engage with the Maldivian government and people to help the country navigate its growth path to a greener, more resilient, and inclusive future. Earlier this year, we updated the Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) for the Maldives, a diagnostic based on extensive research and public consultations that identified key development constraints and opportunities.  This will inform our priorities and engagements in Maldives over the next five years, which will better align World Bank Group programs with the priorities of the Maldivian people.  To inform this process, we need the help of all Maldivians to give their views and join the virtual engagements of the next Country Partnership Framework (CPF).

The proposed CPF focuses on three high level objectives: Building a more inclusive, diversified, and sustainable economy; accelerating human capital; and enhancing resilience to shocks. 

With the evolving health and economic conditions, it is now more important than ever for us to understand the development priorities of Maldivians and ensure that they are reflected in the work we do in the country. That’s why your opinions matter!

We invite all Maldivians to take the recently launched online surveys (in English and Dhivehi) for the 2022-2026 CPF and express their opinions on what the World Bank should prioritize in supporting the country’s development over the next four years.

We have launched an art competition, children aged 12-18 years are invited to tap into their creative spirit and tell us what they want their country to be over the next decade

Inviting youth voices on digital development

The ongoing CPF consultations also offer Maldivian youth the opportunity to get involved in shaping our work in the Maldives. We want to hear from young Maldivians on how we can support the government in boosting Maldivians’ digital capabilities and skills to ensure that all Maldivians can take advantage of new technologies in an increasingly digital world. 

We learned from the recent Maldives Development Update “A Digital Dawn”, that the country's youth population is already the most tech-savvy in the region, with around 63 percent utilizing the Internet in 2019, which is greater than other South Asian nations and peers outside the region. This provides us with immense opportunities to tap into existing and new digital technologies. With the right steps to bridge the gap between the Greater Male’ Region and the outer atolls in technology adoption, there is so much digital technologies can do, for instance, in providing quality education, health care and other services and making sure that no Maldivian is left behind!

Engage with us on Twitter @WBMaldives and don’t forget to complete the survey!

Art Competition for Children – “A Digital Dawn” #MaldivesISee

Coinciding with the CPF consultations, we have also launched an art competition to understand the views of the next generation of Maldivians. Children aged 12-18 years are invited to tap into their creative spirit and tell us through the medium of their choice what they want their country to be over the next decade.  The “#MaldivesISee” is what we at the World Bank aspire to help achieve!

So, we’re calling on all Maldivians: Help shape the future of your country by taking the online survey for the Country Partnership Framework and participating in the art competition. Now is the time to be heard!