For generations, Sri Lanka’s indigenous communities have lived in settlements located across the country, preserving their traditions and identity. Yet, many remain on the margins of society, facing limited access to health, education, and opportunities. For women and girls in these communities, the challenges are even greater. Something as basic as managing menstruation with dignity or preparing for childbirth often becomes a struggle.

Recognizing this reality, UNFPA Sri Lanka supported by the Government of Japan and the Family Planning Association of Sri Lanka (FPASL), for the first time, reached out to indigenous communities with a simple but powerful gesture: the distribution of dignity and maternity kits, coupled with awareness sessions on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR).

Across Polonnaruwa, Ampara, Batticaloa, Badulla, Monaragala, Trincomalee, and Puttalam, nearly 1,900 women and girls received these essential kits.

Inside each dignity kit were items many of us take for granted, sanitary napkins, soap, undergarments, and other essentials that help women manage their health, hygiene, and dignity during menstruation. For pregnant women, maternity kits provided basic, but vital items to support safer deliveries and postpartum care.

But this intervention was about more than handing over supplies. Alongside the distributions, awareness sessions created space for conversations on menstrual hygiene, family planning, comprehensive sexuality education, and sexual and reproductive health, topics often silenced by stigma or cultural barriers. Delivered in ways that were age-appropriate and culturally sensitive, these sessions offered knowledge that women and girls can carry with them long after the kits are used.

This initiative also forged new connections between indigenous families and local health workers. Through the involvement of Public Health Midwives and the Ministry of Health, women were introduced to services and support systems they might not have known were available to them.

For UNFPA Sri Lanka, this was a first, but it is also the beginning of expanding SRH support across the country. By reaching out to communities too often left behind, we aim to build trust, promote dignity, and reduce inequalities in access to health. Every kit handed over, and every conversation started, is a step towards ensuring that no woman or girl is denied her right to health, dignity, and opportunity, regardless of her background.