5.7 million Sri Lankans need humanitarian assistance: report
The report said the crisis has been deepened by a serious reduction in domestic agricultural production caused by a failed agricultural transition to organic farming.
COLOMBO: An estimated 5.7 million Sri Lankans or more are now in need of humanitarian assistance, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has said in a report.
Sri Lanka is facing a complex emergency characterized by high inflation and a deteriorating currency, food insecurity, shortages of fuel, and essential health care services, among others, according to the report.
The report said the crisis has been deepened by a serious reduction in domestic agricultural production caused by a failed agricultural transition to organic farming.
The IFRC said in the report that at least 4.9 million Sri Lankans or around 22 percent of the population are food insecure.
While national production is now not enough to satisfy domestic demands, the country does not have enough foreign currency to import food, according to the report.
The report said the current crisis is affecting all sectors of society and has created the conditions for increased vulnerability, poverty and destitution among a significant proportion of the population.
Outbound migration is increasing, impacting the retention of skilled labor from the country and putting children of absent parents at risk of neglect, the IFRC said.
-Xinhua
