The EPF parliamentary delegation, incuding Pia Maria Wieninger (MP, Austria), Celia Groothedde (Senator, Belgium), Fatima Lamarti (MP, Belgium), Jeppe Søe (MP, Denmark), MEP Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus (S&D, Poland), MEP Krzysztof Jan Śmiszek (S&D, Poland), Eva-Johanna Eloranta (MP, Finland), Hanna Leena Kosonen (MP, Finland), Anne Cecile Violland (MP, France), Helena Vilhelmsson (MP, Sweden), Apsana Begum (MP, The United Kingdom), is visiting Sri Lanka from 26 to 30 May 2025 for a study tour on SRHR, hosted by the Family Planning Association of Sri Lanka (FPA).
On the first day of their study tour, the delegation visited FPA head offices in Colombo, where they were introduced to the organisation's vital work in advancing sexual and reproductive health across the country. FPA provided an overview of national programmes aimed at addressing HIV/STIs, period poverty, and gender-based violence (GBV), with a strong focus on making SRH services more inclusive within Sri Lanka’s national health framework.
Following the FPA visit, parliamentariands visited the EU Delegation to Sri Lanka and the Maldives and met with the Head of the Political, Trade and Communications Section Lars Bredal and the Deputy of the Political, Trade and Communications Section, Caroline Lopes, from the EU delegation to learn more about how the European Union is supporting SRH initiatives in Sri Lanka.
On the second day of their study tour in Sri Lanka, the EPF parliamentary delegation visited a maternity clinic supported by the FPA. Here, they witnessed firsthand the delivery of SRH services, including family planning, counselling, clinical testing, and postnatal care for mothers and young women in the region. In the afternoon, the delegation held discussions with health officials in the Batticaloa region. Key challenges emerged: a concerning rise in HIV cases, a shortage of trained healthcare personnel, inadequate transport infrastructure for accessing services, and persistent gender-based violence (GBV).
The third day coincided with Menstrual Hygiene Day, which delegates celebrated at FPA’s mobile clinic in Nuwara Eliya, a remote tea plantation area. They distributed menstrual hygiene kits (containing disposable and reusable pads, towels, soap, and more) to adolescent girls and learned from them about the most pressing issues they face in managing their periods, such as limited access to products, stigma, and inadequate sanitation facilities. Delegates then met with local health officials and NGOs addressing SRHR in rural communities. A visit to the Nuwara Eliya District Hospital followed, where they toured the only dedicated GBV unit in the region and met with the staff. The unit integrates psychiatric, nursing, and medical support for survivors of GBV, an important model for survivor-centred care.
On the fourth day, the group travelled south to Koggala, where they engaged with provincial health officials and civil society organisations supporting sex workers and LGBTQI individuals. Discussions focused on improving access to healthcare, promoting targeted sex education programmes for adolescents, and advancing rights-based approaches to SRHR.