The recent unrest in Ampara, sparked with the rumour that ‘sterilization pill’ had been mixed with food served in an Ampara restaurant .
The resident offices of the World Health Organization and the United Nations Population Fund in Sri Lanka have dismissed this inaccurate information.
Accordingly the two UN Resident Agencies, in a joint statement said they condemn such action in the strongest possible terms.
In a statement UN Resident Coordinator and WHO Representative in Sri Lanka, Dr. Razia Pendse said: “There is no medication or ‘pills’ currently known or available that can permanently make a human being sterile. The information on use of an ‘infertility pill’ or ‘sterilization pill’ mixed with food is baseless with no scientific evidence.”
In the meantime, UNFPA Representative in Sri Lanka, Ritsu Nacken, said the need to ensure increased access to accurate reproductive health information, especially among youth, is apparent, adding wrong information on reproductive health is being used to ignite hatred and create tensions between ethnic communities.”
The Government Analyst too had ruled out presence of sterilization pill in the food served at Ampara. Instead he confirmed the presence of a lump of flour in the food served.
