The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned on Friday that Sri Lanka’s prolonged economic crisis was likely to exacerbate the situation.
No fewer than 5..7 million Sri Lankans, or 26 percent of the country’s population, needs humanitarian aid.
According to the OCHA, if prompt humanitarian assistance and upstream measures to address the fragility of systems, services, and infrastructure are not provided, this number will multiply and the effects would worsen in the South Asian country.
“Food security and livelihoods have directly suffered as a result of the economic crisis, while access and availability of basic services such as education and healthcare, notably hospital maternity care and sexual and reproductive health services, have been disrupted,” the report stated.
“A significant reduction in domestic agricultural output caused by an ineffective agricultural transition to organic farming has exacerbated the issue,” the UN agency noted.
According to the OCHA, the macroeconomic collapse in Sri Lanka has translated into a complex humanitarian situation, with millions of people increasingly suffering due to severe shortages of food, fuel, cooking gas, medicine, and other necessities.
The current crisis had affected 96% of the homes in the poll, and the three main priority needs at the household level were food, health, and livelihoods
Sri Lanka is experiencing one of its greatest economic crises, with a lack of foreign cash causing a dearth of vital commodities and even food products.
