Doctors clean up Malé

A group of about 70 Maldivian doctors on Friday morning collected 1.7 tons of garbage from Malé’s outer ring road.

The Doctors’ Run and 5km clean-up was part of activities organised to mark the upcoming Maldives Doctor’s Day.

It was the first “plogging” event in the Maldives, a Swedish fitness craze of picking up litter while jogging.

Dr Ali Shahid, president of the Maldives Medical Association, told Mihaaru that the purpose of the run was for doctors to practice what they preach about the importance of exercise.

The ton of trash was handed over to the state waste management company, he said.

Maldives Doctors Day is celebrated annually on April 18, the day when the country’s first certified medical doctor began practising decades ago.

The authorities have long struggled to keep the streets of Malé free of litter and dumped garbage bags.

The per capita waste generation in the capital is estimated to be 1.7kg per day with an annual increase of four percent. Waste collected from Malé is transported to the nearby landfill island of Thilafushi, where it is stockpiled and usually incinerated.

According to the environment ministry, some 255,826 metric tonnes of solid waste was generated in Malé in 2014, a 155 percent increase over the preceding decade.

Kudos to everyone who turned up bright & early at Ekuveni running track to start off Doctors’ Run 2018, as part of the activities planned for upcoming Maldives’ Doctors’ Day

Completed this city round morning run with participation of seventy doctors working in Greater Male’ Area pic.twitter.com/BpO0njTCdp

— Maldivian Medical Association (MMA) (@mma_mv) April 13, 2018

Doctors Run 2018 @mma_mv in partnership with @irunnersmv organized the first Plogging event in Male, Maldives and collected 1.7 tons of rubbish from the 5km road around Male. 65 Doctors working in the capital joined this event. #plogging #irunners #doctorsrun pic.twitter.com/SiQi36XTOJ

— Coach Shujau (@coachshujau) April 13, 2018

Maldivian Medical Assoc @mma_mv to mark #DoctorsDay had a #RunWalk with #Plogging today. Collected 1.7tonnes of garbage from just 1 lap around Male’ #Healthy #CleanEnvironment pic.twitter.com/eUqV1bg0rR

— Malik 🎈❓ (@abdulmalikmv) April 13, 2018

Good exercise and much needed clean-up. #Plogging #MaldivesDoctorsDay #18April pic.twitter.com/r2nmPwBoVB

— Abdulla Niyaf (@niyaf) April 13, 2018