Scooters for women development officers

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) with the support of the Norwegian embassy, supported the handing over of the first batch of scooters to women development officers from 12 districts at a ceremony in Anuradhapura.

Child Development and Women's Affairs Minister Tissa Karalliyadde hands over a scooter to a woman development officer in the presence of Norwegian ambassador Grete Lochen

The scooters were handed over by Child Development and Women's Affairs Minister Tissa Karalliyadde in the presence of Norwegian ambassador Grete Lochen.

The scooters will allow women development officers to carry out their field work more efficiently, without having to rely on public transport. A women development officer from Jaffna, speaking at the event said: "Women in our community do not encounter problems during our working hours. We need to be on call 24 hours of the day, but finding transport is always a problem to reach them in times of need. These scooters are a dream come true for us to help the women in our community".

UNFPA representative in Sri Lanka Lene K Christiansen said: "We are pleased to see the significance placed by the ministry in empowering women development officers with transportation. We are very happy to have been able to help in securing this support from the Norwegian embassy".

Women development officers are grassroot level officials appointed by the Child Development and Women's Affairs Ministry with the duty of enhancing the status of women in the community.

They play a unique role as the main interface between the ministry and the community. They play an important role in identifying cases of gender-based violence at the community level and ensuring their referral to care.