ANURADHAPURA, Sri Lanka – UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, with the support of the Norwegian Embassy, handed over the first batch of scooters to women development officers in a ceremony. The scooters were handed over by the minister of Child Development and Women’s Affairs, Tissa Karalliyadde, in the presence of the ambassador of Norway to Sri Lanka, Grete Lochen. The scooters will allow women development officers to carry out their field work more efficiently, without having to rely on public transport.
Women development officers are grassroot level officials appointed by the ministry, with the duty of enhancing the status of women in the community. They play a unique role as the main interface between the ministry and the community, particularly in identifying cases of gender-based violence and ensuring women’s referral to care.
A women development officer from Jaffna, speaking at the event, said: “Women in our community do not encounter problems during our working hours. We need to be on call 24 hours of the day, but finding transport is always a problem to reach them in times of need. These scooters are a dream come true for us to help the women in our community.”
As the lead UN agency on sexual and reproductive health, UNFPA works closely with the ministry and other development partners in the country in addressing the reproductive rights of women and responding to gender-based violence. Lene Christiansen, UNFPA Representative in Sri Lanka, said, “We are pleased to see the significance placed by the ministry in empowering women development officers with transportation. We are very happy to have been able to help in securing this support from the Norwegian Embassy.”
For more information, please contact:
Lankani Sikurajapathy, tel. +94 11 258 0840, sikurajapathy@unfpa.org
