Team Roar
At least 5.7 million people in Sri Lanka require immediate humanitarian assistance
– International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
FB/IG: In the Needs Assessment report for October compiled by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) the current humanitarian crisis requires immediate interventions to address the fragility of existing systems, services and facilities — the lack thereof would increase the number of those affected, further deepening the consequences.
The three main priority needs at the household level concern food, health and livelihoods, followed by psychological well-being and the education of children.
According to the IFRC, the COVID-19 pandemic and the government’s default on debt payments in May 2022 have triggered a range of impacts in society that has led to this crisis.
“Householders and families across the country are already employing negative coping strategies, such as reducing meals, postponing medical care, taking children out of school and employing children to provide income, and depleting and selling their assets. People are now more often becoming the victims or perpetrators of crime and theft, people are migrating in search of employment, human trafficking is said to have increased, and families are breaking up.”
The IFRC says that at the community and family level, the macroeconomic collapse in Sri Lanka has translated into a complex humanitarian emergency, as millions of people are increasingly suffering, with severe shortages of food, fuel, cooking gas, medicine and other essentials.
