At the 7th Edition of the Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative (MFFLI) Committee Meeting held Thursday, First Lady Madam Sajidha Mohamed addressed key social issues including cyberbullying of children, juvenile justice and delinquency, and food security, highlighting both current challenges and efforts to address them.

Speaking on cyberbullying, the First Lady outlined the damaging effects of online harassment, shaming, and manipulation targeting children. She emphasized on the importance of promoting digital citizenship and highlighted ongoing efforts to raise awareness about cyberbullying in the Maldives.

On the subject of juvenile justice and delinquency, the First Lady noted that the Maldives remains committed to a rehabilitative approach that prioritizes education, reintegration, and second chances. She underscored the need to address the root causes of delinquency, and early intervention.

The First Lady also spoke on food security, highlighting that small island nations such as the Maldives are particularly vulnerable to external disruptions in supply chains. She reaffirmed the country's commitment to building a safe, nutritious, and sustainable food system, and stressed the importance of mainstreaming innovative approaches such as hydroponics to ensure nationwide food security.

During the Committee Meeting, the First Lady announced the establishment of her NGO, which she described as a platform to expand ongoing efforts to tackle social issues. She expressed gratitude to the Merck Foundation for their close collaboration in advancing healthcare capacity-building in the Maldives and credited the Foundation as a source of inspiration for her initiative. In a video presentation, she then offered an overview of activities and initiatives that she has led over the past year and a half.

The First Lady is currently in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, attending the 7th Edition of the Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative Summit as one of the Ambassadors.

Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative is a platform established with the aim to discuss challenges, define solutions, measure impact and share experience to ensure continuous improvement and exchange variable aspects of different cultures in order to localize and/or standardize specific messages that can raise awareness and create a culture shift across Africa with regards to set objectives.

First Ladies of 14 African and Asian countries are attending as Guests of honor and Keynote Speakers.

On Day 2 of the conference, three parallel sessions will be held; two medical and scientific sessions covering oncology and fertility topics and a community awareness session titled Merk Foundation Health Media Training. This session will emphasize on the critical role of the media in influencing communities and driving cultural change, with regards to a wide range of social and health issues. 

The conference is being conducted in a hybrid format, enabling over 6,000 audiences from more than 70 countries to benefit, meet and discuss strategies and solutions for the health and social challenges in their counties.