United Nations in Sri Lanka

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14 December 2021

Sri Lanka’s Path to Recovery: Restoring Human Capital in a Post-Pandemic World

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.

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The rapidly ageing population and the rising non-communicable diseases in Sri Lanka pose a significant threat to human capital.

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29 September 2022

How youth contribute to sustainable solutions in Sri Lanka

Oshan Gunathilake is a national UN Volunteer Specialist serving as Volunteer Management and Community Engagement Specialist with the project Youth Participation and Engagement for a Healthier, Equitable, Safer and United Sri Lanka. Over the past four years, he has served in multiple assignments with different UN agencies, contributing to transitional justice and reconciliation, education for innovation and sustainability, youth participation in peacebuilding, community development and governance. In his current role, he contributes to the development of strategic partnerships that enhance youth participation in community development, enhance capacities for impactful participation in communities and help them take collective action for sustainable development. I invite fellow youth and adults alike to take action and meaningfully participate in the development of our communities. This is one certain way we can ensure intergenerational solidarity in our time, leading to a more inclusive future. -- Oshan Gunathilake, Volunteer Management and Community Engagement Specialist, UNV Sri Lanka. Dinithi Wijayasekera is a national UN Volunteer Specialist who serves with the World Health Organization (WHO) in Sri Lanka as Project Support Officer for Training and Development. Both Oshan and Dinithi work with the joint programme between WHO, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UNV in partnership with the National Youth Services Council of Sri Lanka. I found Dinithi to be a hard-working individual, passionate about supporting communities. She took on the challenge of working with experts from diverse areas and collaborated with them to deliver training in a timely manner. Her willingness to learn and agility in working with diverse youth groups through challenging situations made her a role model for all young people she worked with. --Dr Shalala Ahmadova, Public Health Administrator with WHO, Sri Lanka Under the project titled Youth Participation and Engagement for a Healthier, Equitable, Safer and United Sri Lanka, the duo contributes to the overall development of strategic partnerships for youth participation in community development. The project aims at promoting a Healthy Settings Approach, and guides young people to identify how they can contribute to an inclusive, sustainable and peaceful society. The engagement empowered 540 youth parliamentarians and youth community leaders from civil society and youth-led organizations across all nine provinces in Sri Lanka. Being a volunteer with the United Nations has allowed me to contribute towards the 2030 Agenda by ensuring youth participation and engagement in a united Sri Lanka. --Dinithi Wijayasekera, Project Support Officer for Training and Development with WHO in Sri Lanka UN Youth Volunteer Alejandra (Inés) Alvite Pose serves as Strategic Partnerships Assistant with UN Women in Sri Lanka. Her focus area of intervention is SDG 5, because gender equality is a crucial journey – she says it's her journey as well. A big part of her work requires her to research issues related to women, peace and security, women’s political participation, and women’s economic empowerment. She assists her team in designing policies and projects that enable the meaningful participation and contribution of all genders from an early age. It might take a lifetime to deconstruct every social construct about gender stereotypes but as a UN Volunteer, I look forward to continuing pushing for gender equity, both in and outside my work. What are you doing to contribute to the SDGs? -- Alejandra Ines Alvite Pose, Strategic Partnerships Assistant, UN Women Sri Lanka. Ramaaya Salgado, Country Focal Point at UN Women Sri Lanka affirms that Alejandra’s expertise in human rights law and research, coupled with her interest in advocating for gender equality makes her an excellent addition to the team in Sri Lanka. The work of UN Volunteers is a testament to how young people can play a significant role in transforming communities. Over the years, we have seen how both national and international UN Volunteers have brought new perspectives and ideas to the table. Their creativity and energy have influenced the way we communicate and design solutions to address social and development issues – paving the way for innovating thinking and innovative solutions. --Ramaaya Salgado, Country Focal Point, UN Women Sri Lanka UN Volunteers support communities at the forefront and at the grassroots, many in times of crises. Through this, they become changemakers and are able to achieve sustainable solutions – just like Alejandra, Dinithi and Oshan in Sri Lanka.

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UN Volunteer Oshan Gunathilake, facilitating a session at the Youth Community Leadership Initiative (YCLI) programme

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27 June 2022

Healthy planet needs ‘ocean action’ from Asian and Pacific countries

If done right ocean action will also be climate action but this will require working in concert on a few fronts. First, we must invest in and support science and technology to produce key solutions. Strengthening science-policy interfaces to bridge practitioners and policymakers contributes to a sound understanding of ocean-climate synergies, thereby enabling better policy design, an important priority of the Indonesian Presidency of the G20 process. Additionally policy support tools can assist governments in identifying and prioritizing actions through policy and SDG tracking and scenarios development. We must also make the invisible visible through ocean data: just three of ten targets for the goal on life below water are measurable in Asia and the Pacific. Better data is the foundation of better policies and collective action. The Global Ocean Accounts Partnership (GOAP) is an innovative multi-stakeholder collective established to enable countries and other stakeholders to go beyond GDP and to measure and manage progress towards ocean sustainable development. Solutions for low-carbon maritime transport are also a key part of the transition to decarbonization by the middle of the century. Countries in Asia and the Pacific recognized this when adopting a new Regional Action Programme last December, putting more emphasis on such concrete steps as innovative shipping technologies, cooperation on green shipping corridors and more efficient use of existing port infrastructure and facilities to make this ambition a reality. Finally, aligning finance with our ocean, climate and broader SDG aspirations provides a crucial foundation for all of our action. Blue bonds are an attractive instrument both for governments interested in raising funds for ocean conservation and for investors interested in contributing to sustainable development in addition to obtaining a return for their investment. These actions and others are steps towards ensuring the viability of several of the region’s key ocean-based economic sectors, such as seaborne trade, tourism and fisheries. An estimated 50 to 80 per cent of all life on Earth is found under the ocean surface. Seven of every 10 fish caught around the globe comes from Pacific waters. And we know that the oceans and coasts are also vital allies in the fight against climate change, with coastal systems such as mangroves, salt marshes and seagrass meadows at the frontline of climate change, absorbing carbon at rates of up to 50 times those of the same area of tropical forest. But the health of the oceans in Asia and the Pacific is in serious decline: rampant pollution, destructive and illegal fishing practices, inadequate marine governance and continued urbanization along coastlines have destroyed 40 per cent of the coral reefs and approximately 60 per cent of the coastal mangroves, while fish stocks continue to decline and consumption patterns remain unsustainable. These and other pressures exacerbate climate-induced ocean acidification and warming and weaken the capacity of oceans to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Global climate change is also contributing to sea-level rise, which affects coastal and island communities severely, resulting in greater disaster risk , internal displacement and international migration. To promote concerted action, ESCAP, in collaboration with partner UN agencies, provides a regional platform in support of SDG14, aligned within the framework of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030). Through four editions so far of the Asia-Pacific Day for the Ocean, we also support countries in identifying and putting in place solutions and accelerated actions through regional dialogue and cooperation. It is abundantly clear there can be no healthy planet without a healthy ocean. Our leaders meeting in Lisbon must step up efforts to protect the ocean and its precious resources and to build sustainable blue economies. ---------------- Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is an Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic and So

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04 June 2022

We have Only One Earth, and time is running out

However, half a century later, unsustainable patterns of consumption and production have led to the triple planetary crises of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste. This triple crisis is an existential threat, and it endangers human health, wealth, equality, and peace, as COVID-19 has demonstrated all too plainly. While Sri Lanka and the world grapples with the impact of the pandemic and other global crises, the looming threat of the climate crisis is ever so prevalent, especially for an island nation such as Sri Lanka. Though compounded by sporadic weather conditions and other ecological challenges, Sri Lanka forever stands strong as a nation of rich natural resources and biodiversity. Throughout Sri Lanka’s journey to preserve its natural environment, promote green growth and restore its ecosystems, the United Nations in Sri Lanka has stood strong, with the people of Sri Lanka, against the tide. Sri Lanka continues to work on environmental and climate resilience as part of its transition to green growth. Last year, the UN continued to support programmes aimed at achieving sustainable development at a larger scale by collaborating with national partners on novel approaches to address environmental concerns and respond to climate change. Among other priorities, the UN focused on disaster risk reduction, climate resilient agriculture and women’s leadership in environmental management. The increasing frequency of extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, landslides and cyclones are ranking Sri Lanka amongst the top 10 countries on the Global Climate Risk Index (2018-2020). Climate change is posing an ever-increasing threat to people's livelihood and safety. The livelihoods of many Sri Lankan’s are connected to sectors that are highly vulnerable to environmental factors and COVID19 has aggravated the challenges, thus compounding the climate risks on our communities. The UN has worked to enhance the country’s resilience to climate change and disasters, and to reduce institutional, community and household vulnerabilities and improve capacities to better prepare for and adapt to climate change and natural hazards. In 2021, through cash transfers and creating assets, the UN supported over 35,000 people adapt to climate change and natural disasters and become more resilient to them. UN agencies also supported plans for safe drinking water, sanitation, food security, and livelihoods, to build the resilience of different communities. To ensure the needs and concerns of everyone is addressed in disaster risk reduction, assisted in integrating gender and older people's need in preparedness plans, finalizing the national emergency plan operations, and providing cash assistance to vulnerable Samurdhi households as part of shock-responsive social protection. Climate resilient agriculture is critical in light of Sri Lanka's current food security situation, therefore, UN Agencies promoted sustainable land use management and climate resilient agriculture in 2021. A UN-supported initiative to create a National Weather Portal and its mobile app benefited nearly 460,000 farmers, and last mile climate services were piloted to strengthen the government's capacity to provide more reliable, localised, and simplified climate advisories. In addition, the South-South Triangular Cooperation initiative exchanged information to assist smallholder farmers in reducing post-harvest losses. 80%[1] of those impacted by climate change are women, however systemic barriers prevent women from effectively preparing for and responding to climate impacts. Village development plans were developed by local officials and community members through a UN programme last year, with an emphasis on women's environmental leadership and involvement, to address important problems and requirements linked to solid waste management. Action grants were provided to implement women’s proposals including compost production, polythene recycling and more. Women’s intervention and leadership, reduced waste, encouraged local innovation and sustainable enterprise, and strengthened village-level governance mechanisms (Praja Mandalas). Disaster risk reduction, climate resilient agriculture and women’s leadership in environmental management is massively important to ensure Sri Lanka faces the challenges of climate change. Limiting climate change is an opportunity to improve the quality of life for every Sri Lankan. We have a shared responsibility to protect the one earth we have, and time is running out. [1] https://www.unglobalcompact.org/take-action/events/1928-how-to-advance-women-s-leadership-in-climate-action

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08 March 2022

The power of women leading from the front

Renuka Bhadrakanthi is an activist who, for over thirty years, has focused on various aspects of women-centered community development based in Rathnapura. Working towards greater inclusiveness of women in health, education, and the distribution of resources, she has anchored her work on the motto, “for an empowered and wholesome community”. This is her story: “The women’s organization I belong to commenced in 1996 and has focused on strategies to overcome poverty in the family unit. With an emphasis on the domestic economy, health, and education, what began with 458 families in a single divisional secretariat area has expanded to include 3500 families in 4 such divisions. My activism in the community is geared towards fairness in resource distribution, respectability and dignity in labour and ownership, and inclusive employment opportunities for all. I believe that services should be effectively regionalized for them to reach villages and remote communities and that the state has to play a proactive role in introducing policy and implementation to support this redistribution. In the future, I hope to see a Sri Lanka where education, health, and community infrastructure are sustained at the village-level and made readily and effectively available to rural women and men. I hope for state intervention in spearheading resource distribution and developing social policies that reach the marginalized. We need to ensure essential services are optimized and enjoyed by local communities with dignity.”

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I believe that services should be effectively regionalized for them to reach villages and remote communities - Renuka Badrakanthi

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21 September 2021

UN Women helping to boost the role of Sri Lanka’s women in solving waste management problems

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

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Women community leaders who attended UN Women’s trainings at the inception of the project.

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Press Release

08 November 2022

UN ramps up its urgent humanitarian appeal to bring life-saving assistance to 3.4 million Sri Lankans

Since June, the HNP has been responding to the Government's request for UN-backed multi-sector support for Sri Lanka's debt and food and medicine shortages. Governments and donor agencies have helped the humanitarian community reach over 1 million of the country's most vulnerable people with cash, food, school meals, medicine, protection, and livelihood support. The HNP—aligned with appeals from other UN agencies—has raised US $79 million for Sri Lanka thanks to landmark support from the U.S and USAID, Australia, Japan including JICA, the UN Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF), as well as Canada, Denmark, Norway, New Zealand, Italy, EU, Switzerland, France, and with additional support from the UK, Germany, Thailand, Sweden, Georgia, Latter Day Saint Charities and private individuals and organizations including Brandix Apparels Ltd, Hemas Holdings PLC, Dilmah Ceylon Tea Company PLC, Daraz (Alibaba Group), Amana Bank PLC and the Citi Foundation. The HNP's revision extends the plan through 2022 and requires US $70 million in additional funds to reach a total of US $149.7 million. "We are immensely appreciative of the solidarity the international community has shown with the people of Sri Lanka, including through their generous contributions to the HNP. This solidarity must be sustained if we are to insulate the most at-risk people from the impacts of the ongoing crisis," said UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, Hanaa Singer-Hamdy. In response to the humanitarian community’s updated estimates on the number of people in need across all 25 of Sri Lanka’s districts, the extended appeal will improve nutrition for children, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers; secure safe drinking water; and protect vulnerable farming and fishing households. Ms. Singer-Hamdy stressed the importance of strengthening local food production and delivery. "At this point, safeguarding livelihoods is safeguarding lives in Sri Lanka," Ms. Singer-Hamdy said. Food insecurity in Sri Lanka has increased dramatically due to two consecutive seasons of poor harvests, foreign exchange shortages, and reduced household purchasing power. With a poor harvest season forecast for 2023 and food inflation of 85.6 per cent in October 2022, many Sri Lankans are struggling. Twenty-eight per cent of the population—or 6.3 million people—face moderate-to-severe acute food insecurity. According to the World Bank's 2022 Development Update, the poverty rate rose from 13.1 percent to 25.6 percent between 2021 and 2022. The revised HNP complements existing emergency operations carried out by the UN and humanitarian partners. Among its targets are immediate food assistance for 2.4 million vulnerable and food-insecure people; provision of support and fertilizers for 1.5 million farmers and fishers to revive food systems that have been severely disrupted. The appeal also seeks to provide nutrition support for 2.1 million people, including pregnant women and schoolchildren; safe drinking water for over 900,000 people; and essential medicines and healthcare, including sexual and reproductive healthcare, for 867,000 people. It will enable protection services to continue for vulnerable women and children at risk of violence. Sri Lanka Multi-Dimensional Crisis - Humanitarian Needs and Priorities, June - Dec 2022 (Revised 31 October 2022) Media Contacts: Sri Lanka: Joseph Hincks, Public Information Officer, Office of the Resident Coordinator | joseph.hincks@un.org | +94717792517; Dilshani Dias, Communications, FAO Sri Lanka | dilshani.dias@fao.org | +94 77 015 2424; Bismarck Swangin, Chief of Communication, Advocacy and Partnerships, UNICEF | bswangin@unicef.org | +94 777 236 548; Tanya Jansz | Communications Officer, WFP | tanya.jansz@wfp.org | +94769102462; Madusha Dissanayake | Assistant Representative, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) | mdissanayake@unfpa.org | +94 112 580 840 In Bangkok: Pierre Peron, Regional Public Information Officer, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs | peronp@un.org | +66 614-200-390 David Swanson, UN Regional Public Communications Officer, Department of Global Communications | swanson@un.org | +66 6 5982-5682

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Press Release

30 August 2022

Statement by the UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka on the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances 2022

The International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, marked globally, highlights the need to prevent enforced disappearances and to combat impunity for this heinous crime. Today, we also remember the many families and communities suffering, not knowing the fate of their loved ones. I have met with many families of the missing from across Sri Lanka. For them, the uncertainty as to the fate of a loved one continues to be a painful reality that is raw and fresh. They relentlessly ask for answers to the whereabouts of their loved ones. Without answers, they suffer every day, wavering between hope and despair. In their search for truth and justice, they too have often been victimised. By signing the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED) in 2015, Sri Lanka took a first step in that direction, recognising the right of families to know the truth regarding the circumstances of the enforced disappearance, the progress and results of the investigation, and the fate of the disappeared person. The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) was another step in the right direction, and the ‘List of Complaints and Information Regarding Missing and Disappeared Persons’ received and published by the OMP offered a useful baseline against which to measure progress in clarifying cases. More needs to be done to win the confidence of the families of victims and provide credible processes for addressing their grievances in accordance with international standards. The United Nations stands in solidarity with the victims and families of victims of enforced disappearances, and we continue to encourage authorities to take steps to urgently determine the fate or whereabouts of victims, provide reparations, and bring perpetrators to justice. Hanaa Singer-Hamdy
Resident Coordinator
United Nations in Sri Lanka

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Press Release

17 August 2022

UN Sri Lanka and Government sign Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for Sri Lanka

The United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2023-2027 was launched today by the Government of Sri Lanka and the United Nations in Sri Lanka. The UNSDCF is the Framework that guides the work of all the UN Agencies in Sri Lanka and articulates the collective vision and contribution of the United Nations to support Sri Lanka to accelerate actions towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Cooperation Framework gives primacy to accelerating actions to ensure a rapid recovery from the economic crisis along with the impact of COVID-19, prioritising support to revitalise the economy and economic activities, social services, decent employment, social cohesion, and health and well-being for all people in Sri Lanka. The UNSDCF was co-signed by the Secretary to the Treasury Mahinda Siriwardana on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka and UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka H.E. Hanaa Singer-Hamdy on behalf of the United Nations. Heads of UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes in Sri Lanka also signed the Cooperation Framework. The signing ceremony hosted at the Ministry of Finance was also attended by Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ms. Aruni Wijewardane and the Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific of the UN Development Coordination Office, David McLachlan-Karr. Speaking at the event, Secretary to the Treasury Mahinda Siriwardana noted that “the current global challenges demonstrate the continued importance for multilateral solutions that bring together the international community around shared priorities. This Cooperation Framework with the United Nations in Sri Lanka will be key as we pursue sustainable and inclusive development for the people of Sri Lanka.” Elaborating further the UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka H.E. Hanaa Singer-Hamdy said, “this Cooperation Framework is mutually owned and anchored in national development priorities, the 2030 Agenda and the principles of the UN Charter. The UNSDCF is structured around four interrelated and mutually reinforcing Strategic Priorities where the UN system will concentrate its expertise to support Sri Lanka to make transformational and accelerated progress. These Strategic Priorities cover Inclusive and Equitable Human Development and Well-being; Resilient and Green Recovery and Growth for Shared Prosperity and Environmental Sustainability; Social Cohesion and Inclusive Governance & Justice; and Gender Equality. Of course, our work will be underpinned by a crosscutting commitment to support rapid recovery from the economic crisis and the impact of COVID-19”. She further noted that programmes by the UN System will be anchored in the principles of human rights and non-discrimination and ensuring that “no one is left behind”. "The 2023 - 2027 Development Cooperation Framework reflects Sri Lanka's national development priorities while working in partnership with the UN Country Team towards the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It is being concluded at a very significant moment in Sri Lanka when transformational changes are being operationalized in the economic and social fronts. The Framework is also an important shift for the UN system in enhanced national level coordination in the delivery of its development activities," Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mrs. Aruni Wijewardane said. The UNSDCF will be funded through core budget allocations of an estimated USD 60 Million, in addition to approx. USD 325 Million through other resources – spread across the five-year period of implementation.

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