Feb 16, Colombo: The Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) and the Sri Lanka Forum for Parliamentarians on Population and Sustainable Development (SLPPD) in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Sri Lanka today commenced a two-day on population and development.

SLPPD, a member National Committee of AFPPD, was initiated in October 2016 under the leadership of the Sri Lankan Minister of Social Empowerment and Welfare, S.B. Dissanayake, following his participation in AFPPD's inaugural Standing Committee Meeting on Active Ageing.

More than 30 Members of Parliament and Ministers of Sri Lanka are attending the AFPPD-SLPPD National Inception Workshop held in Negombo on 16-17 February.

Among the participants are the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thilanga Sumathipala, the Minister of Women and Child Affairs, Chandrani Bandara, the State Minister of Youth Affairs, Niroshan Perera, representatives from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Family Planning Association of Sri Lanka, and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Colombo.

The issues to be addressed on the AFPPD-SLPPD agenda are among others, ageing, gender equality, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and youth.

Addressing the issues of ageing population and female workforce in Sri Lanka in his opening remarks, Minister S.B. Dissanayake said Sri Lanka has a decreasing female labor force participation, but increasing female life expectancy and emphasized on the need to ensure the rights for elderly to work as the intergenerational care for elderly is not sustainable.

The workshop will strategize SLPPD's activities for 2017 and beyond in alignment with AFPPD's strategic priorities on gender equality and women's empowerment, investing in youth, and active ageing.

"By the end of this workshop, we aim to formulate advocacy plans tailored to the needs of Sri Lanka," said Dr. Mika Marumoto, AFPPD Executive Director, and added "AFPPD will continue to support parliamentarians and our member National Committees, such as SLPPD, in the path towards the Sustainable Development Goals."

The "AFPPD-SLPPD National Inception Workshop'' is co-organized by the National Secretariat of Elders of SLPPD, and funded by UNFPA, the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), and the European Commission.