Highlights COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on human capital worldwide and has reversed valuable gains made over the past decade. Recovery efforts require a renewed commitment and investment in human capital which focuses on establishing robust and resilient systems to reduce exposure and vulnerability to shocks. Sri Lanka could benefit by bringing together key sectors and stakeholders for comprehensive solutions that can help restore and accelerate human capital. Abirami is a domestic aide. Daily wage earners like her have been hit hard by the pandemic. Abirami has been out of work since April 2020, barring a few odd jobs that came her way. Her husband Kumar used to operate a food cart, but that too ended abruptly during lockdown. Unable to make ends meet, the couple was compelled to sell the cart, the only asset they had in their name. They now survive on a few thousand rupees a month and have no stable income to rely on. Insecurity is a familiar feeling for Abirami. As an informal sector worker, she has no employment benefits, or social security. She lives day to day, using her meagre income to cover their daily needs. She does not have the luxury of planning for her future. That is a challenge for another day. Abirami’s priority is to educate her two sons. A school dropout herself, she is determined that her boys do not have the same fate. Despite her best efforts, she may be unable to give them the future she hopes for. Though Sri Lanka provides free education, disparities in the quality of education often result in unequal employment opportunities, making it harder for children from poorer households to climb out of poverty. Abirami is also responsible for her elderly mother who was recently diagnosed with cancer. Though she receives free treatment from public hospitals, Abirami is left with many additional costs associated with her care. For a family that survives on a daily income, this cost is overwhelming. With so much on her plate, Abirami has never had room for her own dreams. “I always wanted to become a beautician,” she says, sounding almost guilty to admit that she once had aspirations for herself. Sadly, Abirami’s story is not uncommon. It is a story of lost potential, which speaks volumes about the power of investing in human capital. She leaves us with four key takeaways on how best to understand and approach human capital challenges. Human capital challenges emerge throughout the lifecycle. From raising healthy, educated children, and providing jobs for adults, to supporting social security and healthcare for the elderly, human capital challenges occur at all stages of life. They often have a compounding effect, with challenges from each stage building upon the next. Abirami’s inability to complete schooling hindered her job prospects and quality of life and, in turn, affected her children. Failure to address challenges throughout the lifecycle can trap people in vulnerable positions and perpetuate the intergenerational cycle of poverty.   Human capital challenges require integrated and holistic approaches: Isolated interventions can only go so far in creating sustainable and meaningful change. Human capital challenges require integrated and holistic interventions, based on strong collaborations across key sectors. Additionally, human capital challenges are exacerbated by lack of access to and poor quality of basic services, including water, electricity, and transport. Sri Lanka could benefit from developing a human capital program that brings together key sectors and stakeholders for the implementation of comprehensive solutions that can help restore and accelerate human capital.   The pandemic has reversed valuable human capital gains: For Abirami and others like her the pandemic has exacerbated existing challenges. In Sri Lanka, around 500,000 people have fallen below the poverty line. Jobs have been lost, particularly among women, many of whom will never return to work. The implications of prolonged school closures will be more serious for children who couldn’t access online education, and the ‘silent learning crisis’ will impact future productivity and growth. The pandemic has shown us that robust and resilient systems are needed to reduce exposure and vulnerability to shocks. Adapting and preparing for emerging challenges is also important. For Sri Lanka, the rapidly ageing population and the rising non-communicable disease burden pose a significant threat to human capital, and failing to prepare for these challenges could be disastrous.   Investing in human capital today can save money in the future: Sri Lanka has achieved good results in human capital development with relatively low investment. This remarkable progress demonstrates the country’s potential, and provides a glimpse of what can be achieved with more efficient investment. Human capital challenges reveal inequalities along gender, geography, and income, which allow people like Abirami to fall through the cracks. Investing now can help foster productive citizens who contribute to the national economy, reducing the cost and burden on the system. For instance, in Sri Lanka, only 32 percent of women participate in the labor force as compared to 75 percent of men, and the IMF estimates overall income gains of about 16 percent in 2040 if this gender gap is closed in 50 years.  Looking ahead, Sri Lanka must prepare for the challenge of rebuilding lives and reshaping futures. At this crucial juncture, a renewed focus and commitment to human capital development could support a smooth and resilient recovery. For Abirami, the road to recovery is long and arduous, but with a little help, her sons could have a very different story.    

Colombo, Sri Lanka -- Sri Lankan women carry the main burden of household work, so they have  knowledge and influence that could be channeled to improve community waste management, which is not only harming health and the environment but also causing disputes between different communities. The government’s Time-Use Survey of 2017 found that women spend 27.6 per cent more time than men doing housework each day. Yet while women are the ones handling all the household waste, they barely have a voice when it comes to deciding how to manage waste in the larger community. In Sri Lanka, the local government Authorities or Councils have the primary responsibility for collecting and disposing of waste within their areas. But historically, very few women have held seats on these bodies because of institutional and structural barriers, and gender stereotypes such as that politics is unsuitable for women or that women should just stay at home. Before the last local elections, in 2018, women held only 1.9 per cent of these seats. A new 25 per cent quota for female representation boosted that number, though today, women still hold only 23.7 per cent of seats. To address the problem of women’s representation and environmental management, UN Women, United Nations Office for Project Services, and Chrysalis, a local non-governmental organization, are jointly implementing a project called Promoting Women’s Engagement in Effective Solid Waste Management. The 2020-2021 project, funded by United Nations Peacebuilding Fund, is expected to directly benefit about 4,000 people in Puttalam and Mannar districts along the country’s western coast. Most people in these districts work in fisheries and in agriculture. “Through this project, we are working with women to ensure their voices are heard and that they are fully involved in making decisions that impact them, their households and communities,” said Ramaaya Salgado, Country Focal Point at UN Women Sri Lanka. “Solid waste management was identified as the main community issue that this project addresses, but we are building their capacities so that this whole-of-community approach can be replicated in addressing other conflicts and community issues as well.” Because improper waste disposal harms health, the environment and intercommunal relations, the project brings communities together to develop sustainable solutions for their shared environment -- with women at the forefront of that process. In April 2020, the project organized a series of local-level dialogues in which about 350 elected officials, public officials, women community leaders, members of civil society groups, religious leaders, young people and others in Puttalam and Mannar discussed common issues and solutions to waste management. UN Women and Chrysalis then gave the dialogue participants training on collective leadership, peacebuilding and non-violent conflict resolution. Earlier this month, UN Women organized two town hall meetings that connected local authorities and women community leaders with experts in solid waste management, including environmental and civil engineers, local government officials and environmental activists. The broader aim was to get more women into leadership positions and adopt best practices on solid waste management. The women participating in the UN Women project include Kaweeda Manohari, 48, a member of the Chilaw Municipal Council in Puttalam, and Dilushani Fernando, a social worker and community leader in Puttalam. “Recently, I had to be a mediator to a conflict between two parties,” Manohari said. “Since it was fresh in my mind, I was able to use some of the techniques I learned at our training to help the two parties arrive at a compromise and push for a legal solution to their issue.” Fernando said: “I learned a lot about waste segregation and the economic benefits of upcycling while reducing waste. Now I always think twice before throwing away something. I use it to create something new instead. This is what I hope to teach young children in my community.” **Ends** About UN Women: UN Women is the UN organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide. Learn more at: asiapacific.unwomen.org   Media inquiries: communications.lk@unwomen.org Follow UN Women Sri Lanka on Twitter: @unwomenSriLanka

The complex challenge posed by COVID-19 both in protecting public health and the socioeconomic functioning of the country confront policymakers with difficult choices. Large scale movement and physical distance restrictions, often referred to as ‘lockdowns’, can slow COVID‑19 transmission by limiting contact between people, but these measures can also have a negative economic impact and affect disadvantaged groups who most often live in overcrowded and under resourced settings, and depend on daily labour for subsistence. The United Nations recognizes that at certain points, some countries have no choice but to issue stay-at-home orders and other measures. The recent decision by the Government of Sri Lanka to keep in place an island-wide lockdown was critical to help limit the spread of the virus, provide time for the health system to increase capacity, protect healthcare workers, reach vaccination targets, and most importantly save lives. Sustaining the current public health measures, while providing support to those who are most vulnerable to curfews, is an investment to allow Sri Lanka’s broader economic recovery in the medium term. Sri Lanka is currently in the 11th position of the countries with highest number of deaths per 100,000 population according to WHO figures on 25 August. As indicated in the 6th Independent Technical Expert Group Meeting on 26 August convened by the World Health Organization (WHO), if lockdowns are extended to 18 September and 2 October, respectively, 7,500 and 10,000 deaths can be prevented (in comparison to a release on 30 August). An extended lockdown allows time for the health system to recover from the current pressures including a shortage of beds and critical supplies like oxygen. It is therefore important to count the human cost of the pandemic, over short-term economic concerns. The economy can recover but those we lose will never return. A short-term lockdown now will save lives, offer respite to our tireless health workers, and limit the long-term social and economic dislocation of a wider COVID-19 outbreak. There remain economic concerns with many believing that the long-term impact of the pandemic on the economy will cost many more lives in the future and drive businesses into bankruptcy and individuals to poverty. The WHO in Sri Lanka recently projected that an extension of the lockdown to 18 September would result in an economic loss of USD 1.67 billion, while an extension of the lockdown to 2 October would result in an economic loss of USD 2.22 billion. However, economic activity can normalise in many areas when effective public health measures contain the spread of COVID-19. In 2020, Sri Lanka's GDP quickly returned to pre-pandemic levels after a contraction of 16.4% in the 2nd quarter of 2020, with the economy continuing to expand by 2.3% on average the three quarters to March 2021 as transmission of COVID-19 remained relatively suppressed. This is testament to how maintaining strict lockdown measures during crucial periods reduces COVID-19 transmission and mortality and contributes to a safer public health environment as this gives workers and businesses the confidence to resume their economic activities and provides a basis for a sustainable economic recovery. This lockdown period should be used to build capacities to detect, isolate, test and care for all cases; trace and quarantine all contacts and increase vaccination. It is also important to mobilize all sectors of society, with partners supporting the Government in its engagement with faith groups, NGOs and the civil society, and thus help meet the needs of lower income groups who are bearing the brunt of the health and socioeconomic effects of COVID-19. These measures will allow authorities the opportunity to plan for a systematic re-opening of sectors, regions, and the return of employment categories The Government has progressed impressively in vaccinating those above the age of 30 and current figures showing that more than 56% of the population have received at least one dose of the vaccine and more than 31% of the population having received both doses. The United Nations through our COVAX facility has supported the procurement of vaccine donations from Member States and UNICEF and WHO have supported the health system in administering vaccines. However, a vaccine on its own will not end the COVID-19 pandemic. We will still need to continue with policy and medical measures such as surveillance, testing, isolating, and caring for cases and tracing and quarantining contacts. The public must also continue to follow physical distancing and health measures such as washing hands and avoiding closed spaces, crowded places, and close-contact settings. The UN in Sri Lanka has provided technical, material, skills, partner coordination and logistical support and will continue to work with government partners to address both the health and socioeconomic impact of the pandemic to help Sri Lanka recover and build back better. It is only through solidarity, partnership, and personal responsibility that we will defeat this virus – let us all do our part.

Nishantha welcomes all his guests with a cup of tea and a piece of jaggery sugar made from the Kithul sap tapped from his own trees. Through generations, families like Nishantha’s have farmed these Kithul trees, often found in the wild in rural Bulathsinhala, a village in the Kalutara district located in the Western province of Sri Lanka. Occasionally, a small plantation of a few trees would be passed down as treasured family heirlooms. A Kithul tree can take up to 15 years to mature and its flowers can produce sap for generations. “Many of these trees have been alive since my grandfather’s time, and I inherited several of them,” says Nishantha, who has since planted a few trees of his own. “My earliest childhood memories are of watching my grandfather and his helpers carrying down sap from the Kithul trees." Jaggery, treacle, and flour are healthy food products from the Kithul tree. “Kithul syrup in particular is a very healthy alternative to sugar” Nishantha insists. However, despite huge demand for its products, due to scanty tree spread and safety issues, the supply of Kithul products barely meets market demand.

The slowdown of the industry is compounded by a reluctance of farmers to encourage their children to continue the family trade. Though he finds Kithul farming rewarding, Nishantha doesn’t want his son to follow in his footsteps. “As a child, even I was discouraged from going into the family business, I was so interested in the entire process that my grandfather’s helpers, feeling sorry for me, taught me the trade in secret,” he says with a wry smile.   “Many young people don't want to go into the industry because it doesn’t look and feel modern, they are encouraged by their parents to find jobs in Colombo instead,” says Dinithi Samarathunga, a program officer with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), ILO’s implementing partner on the project. “The job is very risky and dangerous,” she adds, explaining that this is another reason discouraging young people from going into it. With support from the ILO, Kithul farmers received insurance policies that cover injuries and accidents. New safety equipment has helped ageing farmers like Nishantha to continue to tap Kithul trees whilst minimizing the danger to their bodies. “The hard hats and the safety belts we have received make our jobs safer, but also much more easy”, says Nishantha, demonstrating how the easily adjustable safety harness is more secure and convenient than the ropes they used earlier.

The interventions were carried out as part of ILO’s flagship Jobs for Peace and Resilience (JPR) Programme, wherein this specific project’s aim was to support livelihoods improvements by strengthening disaster resilience in flood and drought effected communities in selected geographical locations in Sri Lanka.

The project has also planted nearly ten thousand Kithul trees on private land, in the care of 32 farmers.  Whilst being enormously generous with its produce, Kithul is a rare industry that generates both economic value whilst also promoting environmental security. The tree’s fibrous root system is effective in preventing soil erosion in watershed areas whilst further increasing water retention capacities. The Kithul tree canopy can slow down the intensity of rain as it falls to the ground; thus preventing soil erosion. Collectively these effects can have a huge impact in mitigating the damage caused by floods, enabling a greater resilience to climate change for local communities and ecosystems. This is particularly relevant in flood prone areas such as the Kalutara district, which receives some of the highest rainfall in the country during the southwest monsoon. Providing technology that lessens risk as well as increases efficiency and profitability and thereby reduces the economic fragility of the industry is a core long-term objective of the project. It has brought together Kithul farmers from many parts of the country, enabling them to share knowledge and expertise. “Local farmers from other places have tidbits of knowledge to share that can be tremendously helpful. I learned some very useful techniques to treat the Kithul flower in its maturing process”, says Nishantha. Devoted to perfecting the art of treating the emerging Kithul flowers in a way that maximizes their output whilst doing no lasting damage to the tree, according to him “Kithul farming is a lifelong learning experience”.
The project also seeks to provide active links to the market. “We have linked them with the private sector,” says Dinithi, adding that strong links with the local government have also been forged. “As their expertise develops, we hope that the farmer’s association will soon access the marketplace directly, increasing profits and long term stability”. Nishantha talks about how he once earned about two lakhs (approx. USD1,100) from a single tree over the course of a few months. This was a particularly hard time in his life; he had just retired from the army and was waiting for his pension to be approved. “The Kithul trees in my garden are what helped me and my family survive those months. I feel safe because my Kithul trees have been there for me during hard times.”

Nishantha speaks of his trees almost as if they are alive and conscious, indeed the culture of farming Kithul trees is one wrapped up in an almost spiritual regard for nature. “The Kithul farmer is someone who always converses with the tree, the tree is a very sensitive being” says Nishantha, speaking in reverential tones. While much of this reverence is attached to a sense of gratitude for its bountiful provisions, it is also born of a wry sense of guilt and compassion, “We take the fruits of its labor for our own use, in a way we are tricking it. So we have to make sure to treat it with the utmost respect.”