Assistance funds established to support Small Island Developing States (SIDS) need to be “adequate, predictable, and accessible”, Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohammed Solih said while underscoring the complexity involved in the process of accessing the assistance. 

“These funds are usually extremely difficult to access, and the application process alone is drawn out and complex, particularly given the size and nature of projects in small islands,” Solih said during the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Leaders' Summit 2021 on the sidelines of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City. 

The AOSIS is an intergovernmental organization, established in 1990 during the Second World Climate Conference in Geneva. The alliance plays an integral role in carrying out advocacy for small island states and influencing international environmental policy.

In his address, Solih said that all AOSIS members have a “long and deep” track record of commitment to address climate change and sustainable development. 

Highlighting the nature of the challenges faced by small island nations, he said, “We are distinctively vulnerable to the powerful impacts of the climate crisis, and given our small size, at a scale that few other countries face.”

The pandemic, he said, brought the extreme vulnerability of SIDS to external shocks, “crippled” their economies. The global travel ban, for instance, disrupted the tourism industry badly. The Maldives’s economy, which relies heavily on tourism, alone shrank by almost one-third. 

(SAM)