9 August 2022 12:00 am Views - 99
UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, has launched an appeal for US$9 million to deliver lifesaving healthcare to more than 2 million women and girls in Sri Lanka in the next six months, a statement from it issued in New York said.
The statement said Sri Lanka is experiencing its worst socio-economic crisis since independence. The country’s once robust healthcare system is teetering on the edge of collapse amid debilitating power shortages and a lack of critical supplies, equipment and medicine. This is severely impacting the delivery of sexual and reproductive health services, including maternal health care and access to contraception. Existing protection mechanisms for women and girls in need, including survivors of gender-based violence, have also been severely compromised. A UN survey in May 2022 indicates women and girls’ vulnerability to violence is increasing at the same time as services, including health, police, shelter, and hotlines, are declining due to lack of financial resources to continue providing life-saving support.
“The current economic crisis has far-reaching consequences for women and girls’ health, rights and dignity,” said Dr. Natalia Kanem, UNFPA Executive Director. “Right now, our priority is to respond to their unique needs and safeguard their access to lifesaving healthcare and protection services and support.”
Steady gains have been made for Sri Lankan women and girls, including an institutional delivery rate of 99 percent, but this progress is now under threat. An estimated 215,000 women are currently pregnant, including 11,000 adolescent girls, and around 145,000 women will deliver in the next six months. Approximately 60,000 women may require access to surgical interventions. UNFPA is providing cash and voucher assistance to pregnant women to support access to health facilities – and continues to build the capacity and skills of the extensive midwifery force across the country – but with infrastructure and transportation challenges, childbirth could be a life-threatening, if not fatal, experience for pregnant women unable to access skilled medical care. “UNFPA is committed to meeting the critical health and protection needs of women and girls,” said Kunle Adeniyi, UNFPA representative in Sri Lanka.