UN agencies in Sri Lanka say they have raised $79 million in aid, but they need another $70 million to help the country’s growing poor.
According to the UN, the number of people in Sri Lanka who need immediate humanitarian assistance has more than doubled to 3.4 million, indicating a worsening food crisis in the south Asian island nation, which declared bankruptcy in July amid an unprecedented economic crisis.
UN agencies working in Sri Lanka said in a joint statement on Tuesday that they had raised $79 million to feed those in need, but that the growing number of poor people required an additional $70 million.
“Food insecurity in Sri Lanka has increased dramatically due to two consecutive seasons of poor harvests, foreign exchange shortages, and reduced household purchasing power,” the statement said.
UN agencies had estimated in June that 1.7 million out of the 22 million population in Sri Lanka required help.
The UN said its revised plan aims at feeding 2.1 million people, including pregnant mothers and school children and providing livelihood support to 1.5 million farmers and fishermen.
Worst crisis
Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since its independence from the United Kingdom in 1948 and has been enduring soaring inflation, power blackouts, and fuel rationing since last year.
The country defaulted on its $51bn external debt in mid-April and is in talks with the IMF for a $2.9bn bailout.
Months of protests against high prices and shortages of food and medicines led to the toppling of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July.
The UN has said that the poverty rate in the South Asian nation has doubled to 25.6 percent this year, up from 13.1 percent last year.