UNICEF Maldives calls on partners to work together to do more and do better for the future of children and young people

MALE', Maldives, 10 May 2025 – As Maldives celebrates National Children’s Day, the country reflects on its status as a regional leader in advancing children’s rights and well-being – while also acknowledging new and emerging challenges faced by its children and young people.

Maldives has made remarkable progress in ensuring universal access to primary and secondary education, achieving 99% immunization coverage, and enacting strong legislative frameworks such as the Child Rights Protection Act (18/2019), Juvenile Justice Act (19/2019), and the Education Act (24/2020). These accomplishments reflect the Government’s deep commitment to safeguarding the rights and wellbeing of children.

However, the rapid changes associated with socioeconomic development are bringing “second-generation” challenges to the forefront. These are issues that extend beyond basic access to social services and require strategic, inclusive, and innovative responses.

Currently, only 44.5% of children who complete lower secondary education transition to higher secondary, and 1 in 5 young people in Maldives is not in education, employment, or training (NEET). This is leading to increased vulnerability amongst adolescents, resulting in violence, risky behaviours, conflict with the law and mental health issues. Additionally, challenges still remain in the translation of protection related laws into action, quality of social services as well as the inclusion of children and youth with disabilities.

These challenges are further exacerbated by changing family dynamics, the worsening impacts of the climate crisis and the economic risks the country is faced with, threatening sliding back on gains made in children’s rights to education, health and protection. 

On this year’s National Children’s Day, as the nation stands at a crossroads, UNICEF calls on all partners to:

1. Safeguard and promote children’s rights as enshrined in in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and national laws.
2. Sustain the progress made in ensuring basic health, education and protection services and work on enhancing the quality and inclusion of social services with a focus on children with disabilities.
3. Respond to the ongoing challenges with adolescence in the country including transition from lower to upper secondary education, violence against children, deviant behaviours, increasing number of children in conflict with the law and mental health issues.
4. Develop child- and youth- sensitive climate policies and build climate-resilient infrastructure and social services. 

He further reiterated that, “UNICEF remains committed to supporting the Government to ensure that no child is left behind.”

As we mark this day, we also remember the children around the world not least of whom are the children of Gaza, who are currently facing the worst humanitarian crisis amid the aid blockade, relentless bombardments and forced displacement. UNICEF continues to call for reinstatement of the ceasefire and stand with all our colleagues serving tirelessly around the world, to safeguard the rights of all children.