December 13, Colombo (LNW): The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has issued an urgent appeal for US$8.3 million to safeguard the health, safety and dignity of women and girls in Sri Lanka following the devastation caused by last month’s cyclone.
The storm, which struck on 28 November, has affected more than two million people across multiple districts, sweeping away homes, damaging hospitals and clinics, and forcing large numbers of families into temporary shelters.
As recovery efforts struggle to keep pace with the scale of destruction, women and girls are facing growing risks, including disrupted access to sexual and reproductive healthcare, heightened exposure to gender-based violence and increasing psychological distress.
UNFPA estimates that those impacted include around 520,000 women of reproductive age, among them more than 22,000 pregnant women, as well as nearly 194,000 elderly women. Flooded roads, debris and damage to medical facilities have sharply limited access to essential services, including emergency obstetric care, placing expectant mothers and newborns in particular danger.
Conditions in evacuation centres have further compounded vulnerabilities. Overcrowding and a lack of privacy have raised safety concerns, especially for adolescent girls, older women and women living with disabilities.
UNFPA’s Officer-in-Charge in Sri Lanka, Phuntsho Wangyel, said the agency moved quickly in coordination with national authorities, dispatching more than 1,200 maternity and dignity kits within a day of the emergency being declared.
However, he warned that the situation is deteriorating and that far more resources are needed to prevent women and girls from being overlooked as the crisis deepens.
The agency plans to expand its operations to reach over 200,000 women and girls with life-saving services. These include mobile health clinics for displaced and remote communities, the distribution of maternity supplies and essential care kits, and efforts to restore damaged health centres.
UNFPA also aims to strengthen protection measures by supporting safe spaces, providing targeted cash assistance, improving referral systems for survivors of abuse and scaling up mental health and psychosocial support.
Despite the urgency, only a small fraction of the appeal has been funded so far. UNFPA has cautioned that without swift international backing, critical gaps in care will widen, leaving women, girls, newborns and the elderly to shoulder the heaviest burden of the disaster. The agency has called on governments and donors to respond quickly to ensure vital services reach those most at risk.
