Hemas, Dilmah, Brandix and Daraz come together to provide emergency relief

Partners of the private sector giving facility

The health and food sectors are two of the most heavily affected by the ongoing economic crisis in Sri Lanka, with severe medical and food supply shortages, availability of basic pharmaceuticals and overall health and wellbeing continuing to be significantly affected.

In this backdrop, building on established partnerships and keen interests of various actors, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka has leveraged its experience to develop a giving facility, comprising of twomechanisms; Firstly, by channelling private sector funds towards procuring essential and non-essential medical supplies and address food security; andsecondly, by channelling individual donations through a crowdfunding mechanism set up by UNDP. 

In response, key private sector actors including Hemas Holdings PLC, Dilmah Ceylon Tea Company, Brandix Apparel Limited and Daraz Sri Lankahave come forward to pledge their commitment through the facility to complement and strengthen the ongoing health sector efforts of the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) and food sector efforts led and coordinated by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) among others.  

Sarvodaya, the United Nations Global Compact Network Sri Lankaand oDoc Sri Lanka will also come onboard as Strategic Partners of the facility. 

Speaking at the launch event held this evening, H.E. Ms. Hanaa Singer-Hamdy, Resident Coordinator, United Nations in Sri Lanka stated,“Now is the time for the private sector to show solidarity and prove what we have known all along – investing in prevention is good for business. Therefore, we call on you to urgently support our Humanitarian Needs and Priorities (HNP) Plan to provide life-saving assistance to the women, men, and children most affected by the crisis and thus prevent a deterioration of humanitarian needs in the country.” 

Reiterating the crucial importance of inter-agency collaboration for crisis relief, Dilhan C. Fernando, CEO, Dilmah Ceylon Tea Company said, “Sri Lanka will rise again as businesses, individuals, local and international agencies work together with the government to ease the pain our nation is suffering. Circumstances demand that we all act with the kindness and empathy that Sri Lankans are known for. 

With this mindset, we will face the present and future crises with strength. We are blessed to have the possibility of helping at this time, and thank UNDP Sri Lanka for initiating this collaboration while inviting every business that can help, to support the effort.”

Highlighting the key role the private sector has historically played in humanitarian efforts, especially in times of crisis, Kasthuri Wilson, Executive Director, Group CEO, Hemas Holdings PLC mentioned, “As Sri Lanka navigates its worst economic crisis, Hemas remains committed to support our people and our country. 

Being the leader in Pharmaceuticals we are committed to support the most impacted vulnerable communities, and enable access to medicines. Our partnership with UNDP is in line with these efforts and we will focus on providing essential and near essential medicine to communities across the island.”

The launch event saw the participation of several high-level representatives from partnering organizations including Dr. Anver Hamdani, Director Medical Technical Services, Coordinating In Charge/ COVID-19, Ministry of Health; Hanaa Singer-Hamdy, Resident Coordinator, United Nations in Sri Lanka; Kasthuri Wilson, Executive Director, Group CEO, Hemas Holdings PLC; Dilhan C. Fernando, CEO, Dilmah Ceylon Tea Company; Natasha Boralessa, Group Director, Brandix Apparel Limited; Rakhil Fernando, Managing Director, Daraz Sri Lanka;

Heshan Fernando, CEO and Co-Founder, oDoc Sri Lanka;  Rathika de Silva, Executive Director, UN Global Compact Network Sri Lanka;  Malin Herwig, Officer in Charge, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka; and Vimlendra Sharan, Representative for Sri Lanka and Maldives, Food and Agriculture Organization.