Vijayanathan Thusandra is a dynamic global youth advocate in the field of sexual and reproductive health and rights, particularly for women and marginalized youth. As an international master trainer and facilitator for the internationally acclaimed Y-PEER, he has trained over 1,500 youth sexual rights advocates from the Asia Pacific region. Thusandra is affiliated with the ChildFund Sri Lanka where, as Technical Specialist/ Advisor for Youth Programs, he advises the national youth strategy, with a special focus on employment, sexual and reproductive health, leadership development and civic engagement. He has also worked with the United Nations Population Fund, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and UN volunteers in various capacities related to youth empowerment. As a passionate youth activist, Thusandra works with young people with disabilities, young people living with HIV/AIDS, sex workers, sexual minorities, and injecting drug users. He has also worked as a Youth Representative on the Ministry of Health’s National Steering Committee on the HIV/AIDS Response for Youth. In 2012, he was selected by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Skills Development as a youth delegate for the UK-Sri Lanka Commonwealth Young Leaders Program. In 2015, Women deliver and Bayer Health Care appointed him as the World Contraception Day Ambassador for Asia.

Education:

• Diploma in International Relations – Bandaranayaka Center for International Studies, Sri Lanka
• Bachelor’s degree in Social Work – National Institute of Social Development, Sri Lanka
• Master’s degree in Gender and Women’s Studies (Reading) – University of Colombo