UNFPA and SLMA join hands to advocate for sexual reproductive health rights

The 136 th Anniversary International Medical Congress was held this year with physical participation at the BMICH, Colombo from 25 th – 28 th July 2023. The sessions also shared via zoom for the benefit of health professionals both medical and allied health residing and working in the peripheries and abroad and for maximum reach.

The collaborative session with UNFPA will reflect on the advocacy and policy priorities of UNFPA developed in 2018 to support women/ adolescents and safe guard their rights to achieve the SDGs related to women/ adolescents by 2030.as given below;

1. Reproductive health care for women and youth in more than 150 countries – which are home to more than 80 per cent of the world’s population
2. The health of pregnant women, especially the 1 million who face life-threatening complications each month
3. Reliable access to modern contraceptives sufficient to benefit 20 million women a year
4. Training of thousands of health workers to help ensure at least 90 per cent of all childbirths are supervised by skilled attendants
5. Prevention of gender-based violence, which affects 1 in 3 women
6. Abandonment of female genital mutilation, which harms 3 million girls annually
7. Prevention of teen pregnancies, complications of which are the leading cause of death for girls 15-19 years old
8. Efforts to end child marriage, which could affect an estimated 70 million girls over the next 5 years
9. Delivery of safe birth supplies, dignity kits and other life-saving materials to survivors of conflict and natural disaster
10. Censuses, data collection and analyses, which are essential for development planning

Objectives of the session are as follows - 

• To create awareness on legal and policy barriers that are affecting the women and adolescents in achieving their sexual and reproductive health rights in an optimal level
• To introduce the health issues faced by women and adolescents due to legal, policy and systemic barriers
• To discuss sociological constrains and taboos related to SRHR that affect women and adolescents in seeking health care