Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen.
I begin today by recalling a moment that forever shaped the history of the Maldives.
One that showcased our resilience.
But also, one that underscored the immense vulnerability of our islands.
On the morning of 26th December 2004, a massive tsunami struck the Indian Ocean.
It remains the worst natural disaster in our nation’s history.
In a matter of minutes:
…82 people tragically lost their lives
…26 people went missing
…almost 1500 were injured
…over 15,000 lost their homes
… all but nine of our 187 inhabited islands were flooded. 13 had to be evacuated.
…one in three Maldivians suffered, either directly or indirectly
…damages were estimated to be close to 500 million US dollars, about 62% of our GDP
As a highly dispersed country, where most of our population lives less than 1 meter above sea level, the consequences of natural disasters are especially profound.
This tragedy taught us an invaluable lesson: Early warnings and preparedness can save lives!
The increasing climate variability, frequency and magnitude of extreme events necessitate us to invest more on building our early warning capacities.
Secretary-General, thank you for identifying Maldives as one of the 30 priority countries in the roll out of the “Early Warnings for All” initiative. We have not wavered in making use of this opportunity.
Since taking office, I have put forward a resilience agenda. We are the first country to develop, adopt and publish a national strategic roadmap on the initiative.
This reflects our commitment to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
We thank you and the UN system for your support in this endeavour.
Our roadmap is not just a plan on paper, it is a call for action. It leaves no one, no community and no island behind.
Our upcoming 20-year national development plan will prioritize climate resilience, disaster preparedness, and early warning systems to safeguard our future.
Among our major achievements is the development of a disaster loss database to track and monitor climate-induced damages. This allows us to better understand the full impact of disasters, helping us refine our recovery strategies and fine tune our policies.
Maldives is implementing digital disaster data collection for swift response and comprehensive analysis of climate-related events.
As a commitment to our data collection and utilisation efforts, we are developing indicators for a Multi-Hazard Early Warning System.
We are building impact-based forecasting systems, which will go beyond simply predicting weather patterns. These enhanced systems will enable precise forecasting and timely protection of our communities and ecosystems.
A key priority for us is enhancing the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) to ensure that alerts reach everyone at the right time, in the right place. This includes establishing help desks in partnership with local authorities, to extend the reach of our warnings.
We are working closely with civil society organizations, local authorities, and media partners to co-design and improve communication systems.
It is not just about sending warnings; it is about making sure that those warnings are clear, understood, and acted upon by all segments of the population.
Our focus is not just on technology, but also on communication.
We are strengthening cell broadcasting capabilities, which will enable us to deliver early warnings directly to mobile phones across the entire country, including our remote islands. We intend to leverage our advances in digitalisation to enhance our early warning systems.
Excellencies,
While we have made significant strides, we require additional resources to fully realize our vision. We seek increased international cooperation, especially in marine forecasting and observation, to strengthen our disaster response and early warning capabilities.
The Maldives views early warning systems as an investment in livelihoods and prosperity. It is not only the right thing to do morally –it is also economically essential.
We remain committed to ensure that every person, in every corner of the Maldives, is protected by an early warning system that saves lives.
I thank you.