The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has launched an $8.3 million humanitarian appeal to provide urgent, life-saving assistance to women and girls whose health and safety are increasingly at risk following the devastating effects of Cyclone Diwah in Sri Lanka.
Some 520,000 women of reproductive age are among those affected, including 22,570 pregnant women and 193,770 older women.
“UNFPA, in close coordination with the Government of Sri Lanka, is responding to the immediate needs of women and girls affected by the floods. Within 24 hours of the declaration of a public emergency, we dispatched 1,220 maternity kits to ensure the continuity of essential care. But as the humanitarian crisis escalates, urgent action is needed to ensure that women and girls are not left behind,” said Phuntsho Wangyal, UNFPA Country Director for Sri Lanka.
UNFPA is scaling up its response by mobilizing emergency resources to provide life-saving sexual and reproductive health services, gender-based violence prevention and response, and mental health and psychosocial support to over 208,400 women and girls, including pregnant and lactating women, older women, and people with disabilities.
The response will prioritize restoring access to critical sexual and reproductive health services by deploying mobile health clinics to reach displaced and hard-to-reach communities, distributing essential items such as maternity kits, hygiene kits, and midwifery go-bags, and rehabilitating damaged health clinics.
Efforts to protect women and girls will include cash assistance to vulnerable women, security audits of evacuation centers, the establishment of safe spaces, and strengthening support for survivors of gender-based violence.
Mental health and psychosocial support services will also be expanded to address trauma and distress caused by displacement, loss, and uncertainty.
“The agency calls on governments, donors, and the international community to act urgently to ensure that life-saving services are available to those who need them most,” UNFPA said.
