Sri Lanka
- 80%
- of Sri Lanka’s land is in dry and intermediate zones which face frequent water shortages
- 15%
- of children under 5 suffer from wasting
- 17%
- of children under 5 are stunted
Sri Lanka is experiencing its worst economic crisis since it gained independence in 1948. It comes on the heels of successive waves of COVID-19 threatening to undo years of development progress, severely undermining the country’s ability to achieve the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
More than 6 million people – nearly 30 percent of the population – are currently food-insecure and require humanitarian assistance.
Reduced domestic agricultural production, scarcity of foreign exchange reserves and depreciation of the local currency have caused food shortages and a spike in the cost of living, which is limiting people’s access to healthy and affordable meals.
The economic crisis will push families into hunger and poverty – some for the first time – adding to the half a million people who the World Bank estimates have fallen below the poverty line because of the pandemic.
What the World Food Programme is doing in Sri Lanka
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Nutrition
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WFP supports the national health system in the prevention and management of moderate acute malnutrition. Projects include strengthening national capacities to improve the availability, accessibility and consumption of fortified foods; strengthening programmatic efforts through research on food security and nutrition; and developing a social behaviour change communication strategy to improve dietary practices. The Scaling Up Nutrition Business Network was launched in 2019 to increase private sector engagement in nutrition-related solutions.
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School feeding
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WFP has been supporting the National School Meal Programme since 2003. The programme was introduced by the Government in 1931 as an essential safety net to support children’s access to education, health and nutrition. WFP provides technical and capacity-building assistance to ensure that the meals address nutrient deficiencies among schoolchildren. The programme is augmented through the Home-Grown School Feeding project, which promotes the use of locally grown food in school meals.
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Resilience building and livelihood support
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WFP, in partnership with the Government of Sri Lanka, works to strengthen food systems and ensure access and availability of food all year round. WFP’s flagship project R5 helps strengthen resilience among smallholder farmers, assisting them in preparing for recurring climate-induced shocks through better access to climate forecasts and resources. Activities include helping farmers diversify their sources of income; improving access to markets; and climate-proofing community assets.
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Emergency preparedness and response
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WFP works with the Government to develop shock-responsive safety-net programmes, to better prepare for and respond to shocks, in order to safeguard communities and development gains. WFP helps improve national capacities to adapt to and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change, by supporting information management and enabling coordination among partners for effective emergency planning, to ensure people have access to food all year round, even in times of crisis.
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Social protection
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WFP works with the Department of Samurdhi, which conducts the largest national safety net programme, to protect families in emergencies, while safeguarding gains on the road to zero hunger. WFP helps strengthen the shock-responsive capacities of the programme and works to enhance existing national safety nets. The latter includes supporting the development of smart cards for Samurdhi beneficiaries, for cash transfers during emergencies.
Sri Lanka news releases
Go to pageFind out more about the state of food security in Sri Lanka
Visit the food security analysis pageOperations in Sri Lanka
Contacts
Office
Colombo Country Office 2, Jawatte Avenue, Colombo 5, Sri Lanka
Colombo
Sri Lanka
Phone
+94 11 2586244
Fax
+94 11 2502468