A maternity ward at Ugana in Ampara was jointly declared open by the Head of Cooperation of Delegation of the European Union to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Libuse Soukupova and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Deputy Representative, Dr. Paula Bulancea.
The newly constructed maternity ward, which has been funded as part of the European Union-Support to District Development Programme (EU-SDDP) and implemented by UNICEF, will benefit over 65,000 people including children and families.
The Bureau for the Prevention of Abuses of Children and Women at the Ampara Police Station was also inaugurated by Soukupova and Dr. Bulancea.
The Bureau was supported by the EU through UNICEF will benefit nearly 45,000 people in the region. The building of a Women’s and Children’s Desk (WCD) offers a safe and private space for victims of violence and abuse to confidentially report their cases to the authorities. This initiative is key element of UNICEF’s child protection programme in ensuring that vulnerable children have a protective space that respects their dignity and their right to privacy. The Department of Police, the Ministry of Law and Order, the Probation Department, the National Child Protection Authority and the Rural Development Foundation are all involved in this initiative.
While Ampara is the highest paddy producer in the country, only 40% of the farmers have access to quality seed paddy in the district.
The delegation also visited a Seed Paddy Processing Centre at Sammanthurai which was funded under the same EU Programme and implemented by UNDP. The facility will support a 25-member strong farmer organization for seed paddy production - AGRO Group. In support of this initiative, AGRO group invested in purchasing 40 perches, while UNDP provided a complete building with machinery for the processing unit.
In addition, the EU and the FAO handed over the Kanchikudichcharu tank in Thirukkovil, which was improved through the EU-SDDP funds, to the Provincial Department of Irrigation (Ampara). The opening of the sluice gate by Nina Brandstrup, FAO Representative for Sri Lanka and the Maldives, marked the symbolic handing over of the tank that will benefit 1130 farmer families. The project was implemented by FAO with a focus on increasing the water storage capacity of the tank.
A reforestation programme to plant 300 trees in the environs of the Kanchikudichcharu Irrigation Scheme was also conducted. The increase in production will generate more income for farmer families.
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