United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Asia Pacific Regional Director, Pio Smith, who is engaged on an official visit to Sri Lanka, paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at the Temple Trees. The meeting, which took place on February 29th, 2024, was marked by discussions highlighting UNFPA's longstanding engagement in Sri Lanka over the past 50 years as a key development partner.

During the cordial meeting, the discussions centered on UNFPA's continuous commitment to advancing sexual and reproductive health (SRH), gender-based violence (GBV), and population dynamics in Sri Lanka. Recognizing Sri Lanka's efforts in promoting gender equality and women's empowerment, Mr. Smith explored opportunities to further support the country in achieving rights and choices for all citizens, particularly emphasizing the importance of equal opportunities for women and girls.

Pio Smith commended the Government of Sri Lanka's dedication to achieving Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment (GEWE) through the enactment of the Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Policy and the commissioning of three bills aimed at advancing these goals. He also praised the launch of the National Commission on Women as significant steps towards realizing gender equality objectives.

Reflecting on UNFPA's continuous partnership with Sri Lanka since 1973, Pio Smith emphasized the organization's strong collaboration with key government entities such as the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Women and Child Affairs and Social Empowerment, and the Department of Census and Statistics. UNFPA has been actively supporting initiatives to advance women's rights and gender equality, including providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs and Social Empowerment and the Women's Parliamentary Caucus.

The discussions also underscored the importance of addressing changing demographics and climate action through inclusive strategies that prioritize the needs of women and girls. Pio Smith emphasized the need to modernize the statistical system to ensure accurate data availability for informed decision-making and underscored UNFPA's support for the formulation of the Sri Lanka Strategy for the Development of Statistics in collaboration with the World Bank.

Pio Smith expressed appreciation for Sri Lanka's commitment to the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action and emphasized the need for establishing a parliamentary mechanism to address population dynamics and sustainable development challenges.

In response, Prime Minister Gunawardena acknowledged UNFPA's significant contributions to Sri Lanka's development over the years, particularly in strengthening comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services and addressing gender-based violence. He welcomed UNFPA's initiatives to enhance collaboration at the national level and advocate for the rights of women and girls.

The meeting was attended by Secretary to the Prime Minister, Anura Dissanayake, and UNFPA Sri Lanka Representative, Kunle Adeniyi.