UNFPA assists female IDPs
Around 13,000 hygiene packs have been handed over to
the regional director of health services by the United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) and another 12,000 packs will be distributed
soon for the benefit of the IDP women and girls.
These include soap, washing powder, toothbrushes,
other toiletries, undergarments and sanitary supplies.
Women and girls uprooted by the conflict in northern
Sri Lanka need assistance to maintain their health and dignity, said the
UNFPA. The Fund is collaborating with district health authorities to
provide personal hygiene supplies to displaced people in the Vavuniya
district.
In addition, UNFPA has provided over 20 beds to
furnish the proposed post-natal care unit at the Ayurvedic Hospital in
Paipeymadu, Vavuniya, where post-partum patients and infants will be
able to stay during their recovery.
"Women and girls have unique needs," said UNFPA
Representative Lene K. Christiansen. "UNFPA is working with government
and non-governmental partners to ensure that these needs are not
overlooked in the current crisis," she added.
Under its humanitarian programme, the Fund continues
to provide maternity kits to displaced pregnant women at 37 weeks, to
safeguard the hygiene of mothers and newborns after delivery. UNFPA is
also supporting mobile reproductive health clinics run by the Family
Planning Association of Sri Lanka, offering displaced persons prenatal
and postnatal care, voluntary family planning, counseling and prevention
of sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS.
Courtesy : Policy Research & Information Unit
of the Presidential Secretariat of Sri Lanka | 
