Marshall Islands abuzz over universal basic income program

BY GIFF JOHNSON
Marshalls Correspondent

MAJURO, Marshall Islands — The conversation in the lead up to the Thanksgiving weekend in Majuro was dominated by the word “Enra.”

Enra is the Marshallese name given to the country’s new universal basic income program that was launched officially Nov. 26 with the issuance of the first quarterly payment of $201.92 to every Marshallese citizen living in the Marshall Islands.

While UBI programs have been provided for certain groups of people in many countries, the Marshall Islands is reportedly the first to issue payments to every citizen in the nation.

“MISSA was able to enroll up to 33,119 UBI recipients … as of 9/30/2025,” said Bryan Edejer, the administration of the Marshall Islands Social Security Administration that is managing the new program.

A combination of direct deposits to recipient accounts at Bank of Marshall Islands, Bank of Guam and Pacific Regional Bank and checks for pickup were issued starting Nov. 27.

Bonjo Ned, center was the first recipient of a universal basic income check issued in the Marshall Islands. Finance Minister David Paul handed Ned the check. Also shown is Bryan Edejer, administrator, Marshall Islands Social Security Administration

The rush of Marshallese to collect their checks, released at the national gymnasium in Majuro from Nov. 27, saw Majuro hospital — normally filled with patients on any weekday — turned into a ghost town, with no patients coming to clinics.

“Today we celebrate the birth of Enra, a program designed so that every Marshallese can share in its benefits,” President Hilda C. Heine said at the UBI launch. “Distributions will take place every quarter.”

She noted that each quarterly payment will amount to approximately $6.6 million — about $26.4 million for fiscal 2026.

The funding for the Enra program is coming from the trust fund established under the Compact of Free Association with the United States. The U.S. government, in the third Compact funding agreement that started in 2024, has already injected an additional $600 million into the trust fund, which is providing the $26.4 million for the Enra program.

“We are hopeful that as long as the Trust Fund of the Marshallese people remains strong, this program will continue,” Heine said. “Under the current Compact, we look forward to Enra serving our people for the next 20 years.”

U.S. Ambassador to the Marshalls Laura Stone said at the launch event, “It is such an honor to join you today for this milestone moment — the launch of the Enra program, a powerful new expression of the Marshallese value of ensuring that no one is left without support, and no one is left behind.”

President Hilda C. Heine spoke at the Universal Basic Income launch on Nov. 26. Photos by Rubon JR Jacklick

The full name of the program, “Enra Jen Lale Rara,” a Marshallese phrase that roughly translates as “sharing plates (‘Enra’) to care for those around us.”

Stone said, “Enra reflects a tradition of sharing so that every person has enough — so that the wellbeing of one strengthens the wellbeing of all. This program … takes a timeless Marshallese practice and extends it into a modern social system that reaches every island, every household, and every citizen living in the Marshall Islands. Tradition and innovation coming together in a bold experiment noticed around the world.”

The goal of the U.S. and the Marshall Islands when negotiating the current funding arrangement was to ensure it delivered “tangible benefits to all Marshallese people,” Stone said. Enra “directs resources that originated with the U.S. taxpayers straight to families, elders, workers, and students of the Marshall Islands. It increases the spending power of communities. And it affirms that the prosperity made possible through the Compact must be felt by the people themselves — not just in institutions, but in everyday life.”

A key advocate for this program who helped shepherd Enra from an idea to the first payment is Finance Minister David Paul. “Enra is a big deal that will help a lot of Marshallese,” he said.

Paul and Edejer presented three checks to three randomly selected individuals representing children to retirees at the November launch ceremony. Checks for $201.92 were presented to retiree Bonjo Ned, young woman Momiko Kelwan and elementary age boy Stan Akilang while the large audience at the launch ceremony clapped.

The day following the official launch ceremony, the Social Security Administration set up multiple tables in the national gymnasium to distribute checks, while also submitting to the local banks thousands of direct
deposit instructions.

Quite a few Marshallese attempted late registrations in the two weeks ahead of the first payment being issued.

Edejer said registration for Enra has now been paused until early January to allow for MISSA to concentrate on the massive country-wide Enra distribution of the first quarterly payment as well as to allow time for new registrants to gather all required documents.

While the first Enra distribution dominated the conversations in the Marshall Islands in November, another U.S. Compact-funded program is also starting. Called the Extraordinary Needs Distribution, it will inject $20 million into the local economy this fiscal year for local governments to use for food distributions, housing renovations, power subsidies and other forms of assistance to communities on the remote outer islands.

Enra and END combined are providing an infusion of more than $11 million each quarter — $46.4 million for the year — into the local economy. mbj