The Republic of Maldives
The Maldives is navigating economic pressures, environmental risks, and the realities of serving communities dispersed across islands, and lasting progress depends on meaningful community participation and accountable, responsive institutions.
We work with government, civil society, academia, and local communities to strengthen civic participation, expand evidence for policymaking, support women and young people, and improve access to literacy and learning. In the Maldives, we draw on local partnerships and island-level knowledge to connect communities with decision-makers—while opening new pathways to stronger services, digital readiness, and more responsive public institutions.
Impact
Training, mentoring, and grant support have helped more than 35 civil society organizations strengthen their internal systems, support communities, and engage more effectively with local councils and women’s development committees.
One of the country’s first nationwide studies of mental health and psychosocial support services identified gaps, barriers, and community needs, generating recommendations to improve access and strengthen service delivery.
Through the Let’s Read digital library, more than 8,000 readers accessed more than 71,000 books in 2025, helping children and families connect with quality stories while supporting literacy and the preservation of Dhivehi language and culture.
Studies on mental health, labor migration, civic participation, and other priorities have produced evidence and practical recommendations that help policymakers, civil society, and communities better understand emerging challenges and possible responses.
Featured Programs
Strengthening Civil Society in the Maldives
In the Maldives, we help civil society organizations work with local councils so communities have a stronger voice in planning, decisions, and public accountability.
Let’s Read Maldives
In the Maldives, Let’s Read supports literacy and the preservation of Dhivehi language and culture by expanding access to high-quality children’s literature through a free digital library. Launched in 2020, the platform has grown to include nearly 200 books in Dhivehi and recorded more than 71,000 reads and downloads in 2025. Working with local writers, illustrators, educators, and partner institutions, the initiative provides engaging, culturally relevant reading materials for children across the country. It marks the transition from the long-running Books for Asia program, which operated for more than 30 years in the Maldives and helped improve access to books and educational resources across the country.
Enabling AI-Driven Trade
As trade and investment become increasingly digital, access to accurate, timely, and interoperable trade information is essential for economic competitiveness. This regional initiative seeks to strengthen trade facilitation in Sri Lanka and the Maldives by exploring and applying AI-driven solutions that improve access to trade-related information, enhance coordination across government systems, and support more efficient and transparent trade processes. Through assessments of trade information gaps and AI readiness, the development of digital tools, training for key institutions, and efforts to strengthen cross-border data exchange, the project aims to help businesses navigate trade requirements more easily while laying the foundation for smarter, more connected, and future-ready trade systems.
Enhancing Mental Health Service Delivery
Mental, neurological, and substance use disorders are an increasing challenge in the Maldives, yet access to mental health and psychosocial support services remains limited, particularly outside Malé. In 2024, TAF partnered with the Maldivian Nurses Association to conduct one of the first nationwide studies of mental health and psychosocial support services in the Maldives, covering 13 atolls. The research mapped service gaps, barriers to care, and the experiences of service users, caregivers, communities, and providers, generating evidence to inform policy reform, service decentralization, and improvements in access to care for all Maldivians. The initiative also strengthened individual and institutional capacity for mental health service delivery. TAF is currently exploring opportunities to build on this work and support further strengthening of mental health and psychosocial services across the Maldives.
Generating Evidence to Inform Policy and Practice
Since its 2012 study on gangs and youth violence, TAF has continued to invest in locally grounded research to address emerging development challenges and inform policy and programming in the Maldives. Recent studies have examined the role of civil society in governance; barriers to women’s participation in community-based tourism; access to mental health and psychosocial support services; and the landscape, challenges, and opportunities for civil society organizations. TAF has also supported research on labor migration, including the study Migration Dynamics of Bangladesh and the Maldives Corridor, which informed a Track 1.5 dialogue, bringing together government, civil society, researchers, and others from the Maldives and Bangladesh to identify practical measures for promoting safe and regular labor migration.
Featured Publication
Access and Experiences of Care
Mental Health and Psychosocial Services and Support in the Maldives
Our People in Maldives
CONTACT US
The Asia Foundation in Maldives
Maldives.inquiry@asiafoundation.org