UNFPA launches USD 8.3Mn appeal to support women affected by Ditwah

 The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has launched a USD 8.3 million humanitarian appeal to provide urgent assistance to women and girls affected by Cyclone Ditwah, which caused severe flooding and landslides across Sri Lanka.

The cyclone made landfall on November 28 and has impacted more than two million people in all 25 districts, damaging homes and health facilities and displacing hundreds of thousands. In the aftermath, women and girls face increased risks due to disrupted access to sexual and reproductive health services, heightened exposure to gender-based violence, and growing mental health concerns.

UNFPA estimates that around 520,000 women of reproductive age have been affected, including over 22,500 pregnant women and nearly 194,000 elderly women. 

Damage to hospitals and clinics, along with blocked roads, has limited access to essential healthcare services, including emergency obstetric care, placing mothers and newborns at increased risk.

Conditions in evacuation centres have also raised safety concerns. Overcrowding and lack of privacy have increased the risk of violence, particularly for adolescent girls, elderly women, and women with disabilities.

UNFPA Officer-in-Charge for Sri Lanka, Phuntsho Wangyel, said the agency responded immediately following the emergency declaration by distributing 1,225 maternity and dignity kits within 24 hours. 

However, he stressed that the situation continues to worsen and requires urgent additional support to ensure women and girls are protected.

The agency plans to expand its response to reach more than 208,000 women and girls with essential services, including sexual and reproductive healthcare, gender-based violence prevention and response, and mental health and psychosocial support. Planned activities include deploying mobile health clinics, distributing essential supplies, restoring damaged health facilities, improving safety in evacuation centres, and strengthening support systems for survivors of violence.

UNFPA also aims to scale up mental health services to address trauma caused by displacement and loss.

Currently, only 2.5 per cent of the required funding has been secured. UNFPA warned that without immediate international support, critical gaps in services will continue to grow, placing women and girls at further risk. The agency has called on governments and donors to urgently support the appeal to ensure lifesaving assistance reaches those most in need.