UNHCR-private sector tie-up to improve IDP living conditions

Sri Lanka's largest apparel exporter, Brandix Lanka Limited, has linked up with UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to improve the living conditions of conflict-displaced communities (Internally Displaced Persons/IDPs) in the North Western Province.

This is part of a larger programme involving Quick Impact Projects (QIPs), an integral part of UNHCR's operations in Sri Lanka, which sees the implementation of small-scale and short-term projects that have an immediate impact on communities. These projects aim to promote IDPs' return as well as facilitate stability, a UNHCR media release said.

Commending Brandix's contribution UNHCR Representative in Sri Lanka Amin Awad says, "The group is setting an example to the world of social responsibility by the private sector in Sri Lanka and particularly by the apparel sector, for which they should be recognised." This is the first step in UNHCR's efforts to forge strategic partnerships with Sri Lanka's private sector, to address some key humanitarian needs.

Brandix pioneered the concept of total solutions in the Sri Lankan apparel industry and was once again recognised as Sri Lanka's largest apparel exporter by the Export Development Board recently.

Brandix is supported by over 20 manufacturing facilities in Sri Lanka and strategically located international sourcing offices.

Brandix's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts are driven by the central corporate theme 'Water is Life' and constitute a long term commitment to improving the living conditions of people in need including bringing safe drinking water to households in Sri Lanka.

The Group's community outreach initiatives also include providing water through desalination plants, well and pipe-borne water to communities in and around its manufacturing plants and the improvement of sanitation facilities in needy areas.

UNHCR began operations in Sri Lanka in 1987, and is the designated lead agency mandated for the protection and assistance of persons displaced by the conflict.

The UNHCR is also monitoring the ongoing return programme facilitated by the Government in the East through which some 176,000 persons have already returned to their villages.