Education on good nutrition practices through gender equality at work and home

• S4IG and WFP mark International Women’s Day in Batticaloa

Marking International Women’s Day, the Sri Lanka Skills for Inclusive Growth (S4IG), an initiative of the Australian Government and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), called for a strong push to promote health dietary practices by empowering both men and women at their workplaces and at home.

As part of its skills and capacity development initiative across the three districts in the East and Polonnaruwa, S4IG is launching the second season of the popular Supreme Chef, a competitive cooking TV show in Sri Lanka. WFP is partnering with S4IG in this show where nutritious food and healthy lifestyles will be promoted, in a bid to address poor nutrition.

Keeping in line with this year’s IWD theme “I am Generation Equality: Realising Women’s Rights” – an event, held in Batticaloa featured four role models in the hospitality trade, their inspiring stories, a healthy cookery demonstration and family cooking time for participants of Supreme Chef’s second season. 

“At WFP Sri Lanka, we have been celebrating every year with different activities which promote gender equality which focus heavily on empowering women and communities. Gender equality is non-negotiable, and International Women’s Day is a reminder that we will have a better world where both women and men both contribute equally to the well-being of their family and communities,” said WFP Country Director in Sri Lanka Brenda Barton.

Women, especially in rural areas, are instrumental in the fight against hunger and malnutrition and in making food systems more productive and sustainable. They grow food, reduce food losses, and make diets more diverse and agricultural produce more marketable along the agri-food value chains.

S4IG Team Leader David Ablett, speaking at the event in Batticaloa stated, “At S4IG, we support women›s empowerment in especially in the tourism value chain, encouraging high female participation in this industry, most importantly through education and economic independence. Working alongside WFP to create better education on nutrition and health through our landmark TV show, Supreme Chef brings along a new dimension to our work and gender equality, even here, shines strong.”

 An Australian Aid funded program, S4IG is committed to expand economic opportunities for the poor through an integrated approach to skills development that can support inclusive economic growth opportunities along the tourism value chain in the four districts of Trincomalee, Ampara, Batticaloa (Eastern Province) and Polonnaruwa (North Central Province). Through the Supreme Chef initiative, the program will increase skills and create pathways for sustainable job creation for marginalised and disadvantaged people, particularly women and PWD.

WFP Sri Lanka’s work in improving nutrition for women lays the foundation for their and their family’s economic empowerment, breaking the cycle of poverty. This partnership will further strengthen a collective approach and collaboration in building prosperity and supporting a sustainable future for the people of Sri Lanka.

 The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organisation, saving lives in emergencies, building prosperity and supporting a sustainable future for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

Skills for Inclusive Growth (S4IG) is a skills development program that uses the tourism sector to explore and demonstrate successful models of change within skills providers, formal and informal tourism enterprises across the districts of Ampara, Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Polonnaruwa - showcasing coordinated demand-driven flexible and inclusive skills development. S4IG is an initiative of the Australian Government’s aid initiative in collaboration with the Sri Lankan Government’s Ministry of Skills Development, Employment and Labour Relations.