National Narcotics Control Bureau

Safe Islands

Drug abuse is increasing day by day. What started as a small scale misdemeanor among the youth of Male in the 1970s has today developed into a national disaster, spreading its tentacles deep into the distant atolls. Small islands that were once sleepy fishing villages have today become hotbeds of drugs and associated violence. Fortunately there are some islands that are still unaffected by drugs. What we do not know is how long they will remain safe, unless something is done soon to protect them.

National Narcotics Control Bureau is working with island communities in a pilot project aimed at identifying safe islands and supporting them to remain drug free. NNCB has held initial discussions with island communities in three islands of North Miladummadulu: Funadu, Kanditheem and Milandu.

According to the project concept a safe island is one whose people have taken the initiative to keep their island free from drugs. NNCB will help such islands giving them technical support to prevent drugs from spreading to their islands.

The driving force for the safe island program will be the ‘Concern Committee,’ a voluntary group consisting of members of island development community and women’s committee, teachers and police (where present), NGOs and prominent citizens. The mission of a Concern Committee is to plan and implement a program against drugs at the island level.

The program will include awareness programs aimed at students and youngsters aimed to strengthen and enable them to say no drugs. It will also include awareness program aimed at parents to enable them to identify early vulnerabilities in their children and take preventive measures. The awareness programs will make use of teachers and student peers.

The Concern Committee will maintain a constant vigil to detect any early signs of drugs coming to their islands, taking steps to prevent drug dealers from taking root. Any drug addicts coming to live in the island will be detected and encouraged to go for rehabilitation.

The Challenge

Illicit drugs are a global impediment to the social and economic development of nations. The impact of the drug scourge has been particularly severe on the Maldives, threatening her prosperity, good health, and indeed her whole future.

In the past decade we have intensified our efforts to stop the drug menace. But we, as a nation, need to do even more to ensure that criminals, who put their own interests before those of the nation, do not take our common heritage away from us.

The lesson we learn from other countries is that drug abuse is a hydra-like multifaceted issue. It requires a balanced well-coordinated multi-sectoral approach, encompassing measures to stop illicit drugs from entering the country and to reduce the demand for them. Both these aspects are equally important and need to be given the same, high priority.

We, therefore, call upon all Maldivians, as indeed the international community, to support fully our efforts to eliminate the scourge of illicit drugs from the Maldives and beyond our borders. This is the challenge and we must commit ourselves to this challenge.