News
ILO gives personal protective equipment to micro and small enterprises
Keeping workplaces safe and healthy
Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) play a vital role in the Sri Lankan economy and their effective business continuity despite the challenges posed by COVID-19.
Workplace safety and health measures form an essential element for business continuity where workplaces do not become places of COVID-19 spread. MSEs ordinarily employ less than 50 workers, and many are in the informal sector.
In a bid to ensure that hundreds of MSEs in the Kalutara and Gampaha districts, where a majority of such enterprises are concentrated, are safe and healthy spaces to work, the International Labour Organization (ILO) together with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), purchased and kick-started the delivery of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) worth Rs. 47 million.
With funding from the UN COVID-19 Response and Recovery Multi-Partner Trust Fund (UN COVID-19 MPTF), this timely response is among the many interventions underway by the ILO to assist the healthy socio-economic recovery of the micro and small enterprise sector of Sri Lanka.
The distribution of PPE kits commenced on November 18 and is being carried out with the support of the Small Enterprise Division (SED) of the Ministry of Youth and Sports. The PPE kits include handwashing stations, bottles of hand sanitizers, first aid kits, face masks, visitor record keeping books, cakes of soap, packets of paper tissue, packets of paper towels, hand-held digital thermometers, bottles of toilet sanitizer, hand gloves and bins with lids.
The Gampaha and Kalutara district-based enterprises and their specific PPE requirements were identified through swift assessments carried out by SED officers, with the support of the Ministry of Labour. Assessments targeted enterprises, particularly economically hard-hit and women-owned, across various sectors such as tourism-accommodation, food and food processing, textile, craft and agri-business industries.
The enterprises are located in Kelaniya, Mirigama, Negombo, Katana DS Divisions in the Gampaha district, and Beruwala, Kalutara, Panadura, Bulathsinhala DS Divisions in the Kalutara district.
A further batch of PPE kit distributions are planned for before the end of the year, reaching all remaining divisions of the two districts.
The PPE kit distribution is being complimented by OSH risk assessment of MSEs; training entrepreneurs on how to implement OSH measures and how to use PPE; enterprise level training programs with a focus on business development, psychosocial support, and facilitating access to finance. This will be coupled with a national campaign focused on bringing awareness of the occupational health and safety (OSH) risks and measures for MSEs, psychosocial risks faced by MSE owners and workers, and how to access state provided financing.
The initiative enjoys solid partnerships with many government entities for its effective implementation particularly the Ministries of Labour, Industry and Commerce, Small Enterprise Development Division of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Central Bank, and the Ministry of Health. Others include WHO, WFP, the Employers Federation of Ceylon, various Commercial Banks, the Women’s Chamber of Commerce, the Institute for Mental Health, medical anthropologists, psychologists, the media, and filmmakers.
The handover of 35 tonnes of Russian Humanitarian Aid to Sri Lanka, recently affected by the cyclone «Ditwah», took place at Katunayake today (10th December)
The shipment was welcomed at the Katunayake airport by Ambassador of Russia Levan Dzhagaryan, Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation Anura Karunathilaka and Deputy Minister of Defence, Major General Aruna Jayasekara (Retd).
Ambassador Levan Dzhagaryan: said “This delivery is a reflection of long-term friendly relations between Russia and Sri Lanka and reaffirms Moscow’s commitment to support countries in a difficult humanitarian situation.”
The supplies brought by the EMERCOM (Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations) aircraft comprised a movable 60 kW electric power station, Pumping equipment for water drainage, Summer tents (10-person capacity) and Food supplies (sugar, vegetable oil, rice)
The total cargo weight is 35 metric tonnes. The aid will be distributed among the most affected regions.
A meeting between the Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake and the French Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Rémi Lambert, was held on Tuesday (09) afternoon at the Presidential Secretariat.
During the discussion, the French Ambassador assured the Secretary to the President that the French Development Agency would extend its support to the Government’s programme for providing relief to those affected by Cyclone Ditwah and for rebuilding Sri Lanka. He further stated that steps are being taken to dispatch a team of experts to the country in the near future.
The Deputy Head of Mission at the French Embassy, was also present on this occasion.
India has strengthened its humanitarian support to Sri Lanka in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah, providing critical air assets, emergency supplies, engineering equipment and medical aid to bolster national rescue and recovery operations.
India dispatched an additional MI-17 helicopter to assist the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) in ongoing air rescue missions on Tuesday (09). Two MI-17 V5 helicopters of the Indian Air Force had been operating in Sri Lanka from 29 November, conducting around 90 sorties, rescuing approximately 270 survivors, airlifting about 50 tonnes of relief material to inaccessible areas and relief camps and deploying 57 Sri Lankan troops to cut-off locations.
Having completed their flying hours, the two helicopters returned to India on Sunday (08) for mandatory maintenance and a fresh MI-17 aircraft arrived at Katunayake Airport to continue operations alongside the SLAF.
The aviation support comes alongside major maritime assistance. The Indian naval vessel INS Gharial arrived at the Port of Trincomalee on Sunday (08) carrying a 700-tonne humanitarian shipment, marking India’s fifth naval relief consignment to Sri Lanka, apart from 10 aircrafts and 5 helicopters, which have contributed towards rescues and relief operations, since the cyclone.
The shipment included essential food supplies such as pulses, sugar and milk powder, as well as bed sheets, towels, sarees, dhotis and tarpaulins for families displaced by flooding and landslides. The emergency aid is being directed to the hardest-hit districts through local relief agencies.
In a further show of engineering support, India has also handed over a 63-ton Bailey bridge and a consignment of essential medicines to Sri Lankan authorities to restore connectivity and meet urgent medical needs in affected communities.
The cargo was received by General Chaminda Wijerathne of the Sri Lanka Army Headquarters, Sunil Jayaweera, former Director Preparedness of the Disaster Management Centre (DMC), now volunteering in the response and Shan Pathirana, Deputy Director of the DMC Awareness Division.
The handover was facilitated by the Indian High Commission in Colombo.
These coordinated air, sea and engineering initiatives underscore India’s continued commitment to supporting Sri Lanka during its national emergency response and long-term recovery. The assistance forms part of India’s broader partnership to restore essential services, reconnect isolated communities and provide relief to thousands affected by Cyclone Ditwah.
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