Campaign commenced in Magoodhoo encouraging cloth nappies

In an effort to reduce the amount of plastic used in Magoodhoo island in Noonu atoll, the island's Council, Women's Development Committee (WDC), and Health Centre have joined efforts with Soneva in conducting a campaign encouraging the use of cloth diapers instead of plastic ones.

The campaign, dubbed 'Budu Fothi', was announced in a joint press release issued yesterday, and detailed that this campaign aims to reduce waste as well as the import of single use plastic into the island, while also fostering a tradition of using cloth diapers.

According to the announcement, 32 families from the island will be participating in the three month programme.

In a special ceremony held to inaugurate the event, the families were given a cloth nappy hamper kit and given instructions on how to use the nappies.

"Participants of the programme signed a pledge agreeing to prioritise practices towards ensuring the health of children and a safe environment for them, as well as to encourage such practices," the statement reads.

The participating agencies also revealed that a support group has been created for the participants to ensure that the programme is a success. The purpose of this support group is to share experiences among participating families and allow them to learn and support each other through this journey, the leading agencies said.

Another component of the programme includes providing information about reusable nappies to local retail shops, with Zero Waste Maldives to become a supplier of reusable nappies to ensure a sustained supply of products at the island.

President of Magoodhoo's Women's Development Committee Majidha Hassan said that waste management is a significant issue in the island, and that this programme ignites hope for them, considering the health detriments of nappy waste.

Soneva Namoona's Reduce Manager Khadeeja Hamid said that the three month programme would help them collect data to plan out their work for the future.

"The assurance we received from participating in the Budu Fothi programme is that we cannot raise our children in the safest way possible while still maintaining our actions towards mitigating the negative impacts on the environment. Moving forward with this work is a big satisfaction for us," a participant of the programme said.

Prior to commencing the programme, a survey on single use nappies was also conducted in Magoodhoo. It showed that families with small children spend MVR 831 on buying nappies monthly, while the average frequency of nappy changes are at four or five times daily. That is 4,320 nappies thrown away as waste over three years - enough to fill six volleyball courts.