Fainu (Raa Atoll)
| Fainu | |
|---|---|
| Inhabited island | |
  Fainu Location in Maldives | |
| Coordinates: 5°28′N 73°01′E / 5.467°N 73.017°ECoordinates: 5°28′N 73°01′E / 5.467°N 73.017°E | |
| Country | Maldives |
| Administrative atoll | Raa Atoll |
| Distance to Malé | 151.50 km (94.14 mi) |
| Dimensions | |
| • Length | 1.325 km (0.823 mi) |
| • Width | 0.500 km (0.311 mi) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 362 |
| Time zone | MST (UTC+05:00) |
Fainu (Dhivehi: ފައިނު) is one of the inhabited islands of Raa Atoll.
Being a small population, the island faces many challenges. Children's education remains a critical issue with every single child having to leave the island for secondary school. The first foreign teacher ever in the history of Fainu School started working in the academic year 2006. Health services are poorly administered. Only two family health workers work in the area with no health post or doctors available. Yet on 31 May 2004, the island won the award for no-smoking by the World Health Organisation.
Other issues such as environmental degradation remain prominent. Maldives Human Development Report 2000 highlighted the poor irrigation system at place which is still unchanged. Also, Maldives State of the Environment Report 2002 highlighted the severe beach erosion problem faced by the island (notably the biggest island in Raa Atoll). Moreover, December 2004 - Indian Ocean tsunami left the island as the second most devastated in the atoll.