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WFP Sri Lanka: Situation Report 5 August 2022

Countries
Sri Lanka
Sources
WFP
Publication date

In Numbers

  • 6.3 million people are food-insecure. This is likely to deteriorate as the crisis unfolds.
  • 6.7 million people are not consuming acceptable diets.
  • 3.4 million people are prioritized to receive assistance from WFP.

Highlights

  • WFP’s cash-based transfers are due to start in Galle, Mullaitivu, and Nuwara Eliya districts, followed by Ampara, Colombo, Jaffna, Kurunegala, Mannar, Monaragala, and Vavuniya. Current funding is sufficient for WFP to reach approximately 179,000 individuals from low-income households.

  • Thus far, WFP reached 2,194 of the 2,400 targeted pregnant women in urban poor communities in Colombo with value vouchers. WFP expects to complete distribution next week.

Situation Update

  • Sri Lanka, an island-nation with a population of 22 million people, continues to weather the hardships brought by its worst economic crisis in 70 years.

  • Higher prices for food and other essentials, coupled with losses in income, are making it increasingly difficult for families to afford sufficient nutritious food. According to the National Consumer Price Index, food inflation increased to 75.8 percent in June, from 58 percent in May 2022. The Colombo Consumer Price Index indicated that food inflation in the capital city Colombo is higher, at 80 percent, during the same period.

  • WFP’s monitoring of vouchers for pregnant women in Colombo indicated that 84 percent lost part or all of their income due to the crisis. Nine in ten households now earn less than LKR 50,000 (USD 138) per month. The most pressing concerns raised by beneficiaries were food prices (93 percent), food shortages (77 percent), and transport issues due to fuel shortage (75 percent).