Partnership formed to Bring women’s and Girls’ issues to the forefront

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) partners Wijeya Digital and Social Media to highlight issues faced by women and girls in Sri Lanka

From left: Head of Social Media Wijaya Newspapers Ltd Rishini Weeraratne, UNFPA Sri Lanka Representative Ritsu Nacken, Wijeya Networks Limited Director Udesh Gunatunga and Resource Mobilization and Partnerships (UNFPA Sri Lanka) Maya Karunaratne pose for a photograph after UNFPA and Wijeya Digital and Social Media entered into a partnership that’ll help produce digital media content which highlights issues faced by women and girls in Sri Lanka

Pandemics such as COVID-19 affect women and men differently, further exacerbating existing inequalities faced by women and girls and other marginalised groups such as persons with disabilities and those battling extreme poverty.

In response to these issues the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) continues to assist the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL)  to strengthen the support extended to women and girls across the country; both in the context of COVID-19 and beyond. To bring these challenges to the forefront UNFPA and Wijeya Digital and Social Media entered into a partnership to produce digital media content on the pertinent social development issues such as gender inequality, gender-based violence, population ageing, sexual and reproductive health and comprehensive sexuality education. 

At the signing of the partnership Wijeya Newspapers Ltd was represented Wijeya Networks Limited Director Udesh Gunatunga and Head of Social Media Wijaya Newspapers Ltd Rishini Weeraratne while UNFPA was represented by UNFPA Sri Lanka Representative Ritsu Nacken and Resource Mobilization and Partnerships (UNFPA Sri Lanka) Maya Karunaratne. 

Bringing out these narratives will help advance the rights of women and girls to achieve their full potential in line with the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.
The partnership presents an exciting opportunity to reach a diverse audience and create a dialogue within all segments of the society, especially among young people, in all three languages spoken widely across Sri Lanka.

UNFPA Sri Lanka Representative Ritsu Nacken (left) and Wijeya Networks Limited Director Udesh Gunatunga pose for the camera after UNFPA and Wijeya Digital and Social Media entered into a partnership that’ll help produce digital media content which highlights issues faced by women and girls in Sri Lanka

UNFPA Sri Lanka Representative Ritsu Nacken (left) and Wijeya Networks Limited Director Udesh Gunatunga place their signatures to ink a partnership that’ll enable UNFPA and Wijeya Digital and Social Media to produce digital media content that highlights issues faced by women and girls in Sri Lanka