Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA) has begun efforts to inspect agricultural farms on B. Goidhoo in response to a spike in cancer cases on the island.
In a Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Welfare press conference today, Minister Maryam Mariya announced that MFDA has begun inspections and testing to identify the cause.
Concerns about an increase in cancer cases on Goidhoo, an island with large-scale agricultural efforts, was first raised by a member of the public called Shahula Wajeeh.
Shahula's Facebook post shared in December last year said that non-communicable diseases are on the rise in Goidhoo, an island with a resident population of about 500. Even amongst these, cancer is starkly predominant, she noted.
Over the past five years, there has been 9 new cases of cancer identified on the island, with 3 having died of the disease, Shahula shared.
She raised concerns that about 95 percent of the island's agricultural plots are operated by foreigners, alleging that many use pesticides and other chemicals at levels that could endanger human health.
In today's press conference, Minister Mariya said that although there exists a law on the use of pesticides, work on drafting policies that need to enacted under the law only began last month.
"Our hope is that, God willing, these policies will be implemented very soon," she said.
