The Government of Maldives signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for sustainable disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, and mitigation in the Maldives. 

In a ceremony conducted in Hulhumale, the agreement was signed by UNDP, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the Maldivian Red Crescent (MRC), UNDP and the University of Dubai in addition to UNDP and the University of Milan-Bicocca. The Small Island Developing States Joint Sustainable Development Goals Fund (SDG) provides funding for the agreement.

In accordance with the Maldives Strategic Action Plan (SAP) and Agenda 2030, UNDP and NDMA have been collaborating to integrate disaster risk reduction (DRR) into the country's efforts to adapt to climate change. They have also been updating national and subnational development planning. The signatory organizations, according to UNDP, want to improve and deliver concrete actions, collaboration, and communication between national and sub-national governments to implement DRR and CCA efforts supporting the country's policies and creating conducive conditions to sustain DRR/CCA planning and execution at the island community level. It will be accomplished by creating new implementing rules, national sub-national institutional coordination mechanisms, island-level standard operating procedures, and capacities to operationalize the nation's vision for locally driven resilience building. For populations at higher risk, in particular women, unemployed and at-risk young men and women, migrant workers, older people, children, people with disabilities, and populations living in remote communities with high exposure to climatic disasters, it is anticipated that this will have positive long-term development effects.

The partnership will work on reviewing/updating school and community preparedness plans to include multi-hazard preparedness at national/sub-national levels, as well as exploring the creation of shared baselines of natural and human-induced disasters, as well as the effects of environmental degradation.