Sri Lanka

Introduction

This is the first IOM Regional Data Report on Asia and the Pacific. This statistical product highlights the complex migration trends that characterize this region of the world. The report is predominantly based on IOM primary data collection activities and covers the whole 2017 and the first six months of 2018.

From the editors

In her Foreword to this issue of FMR, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, Cecilia Jimenez-Damary, poses the question: Where do we go from here?

Overview

The Government aims to provide universal sanitation coverage by 2020 and to mainstream menstrual hygiene management (MHM) through new water, sanitation and hygiene in schools (WinS) policies. However, there is significant fragmentation of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) responsibilities.

There is increasing recognition that menstrual hygiene management (MHM) is a multi-sectoral issue that requires integrated action, particularly from the education, health and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sectors.

Numerous studies have shown that the lack of MHM-friendly facilities and support for schoolgirls and female teachers is a barrier to their full participation in school and thus to quality education.

New approach puts theory of Climate-Resilient Water Management into practice on the ground

• Climate-driven water scarcity could reduce GDP growth rates in South Asia by as much as 6%.1

• Climate change will increase water-stress through irregular rainfall patterns and increased incidence of floods and droughts.

• The Action on Climate Today (ACT) programme has developed a conceptual framework that clearly distinguishes Climate Resilient Water Management (CRWM) from traditional approaches to water management.

Foreword

On Monday 16 October 2017 the Council adopted the EU Annual Report on Human Rights And Democracy in the World in 2016.

2016 was a challenging year for human rights and democracy, with a shrinking space for civil society and complex humanitarian and political crises emerging. In this context, the European Union showed leadership and remained strongly committed to promote and protect human rights and democracy across the world.

171 projects in 39 countries – last year, Kolping International was able to support vocational training, agriculture, micro credit, and water projects with over 11 million euro. The donations by private donors increased significantly, amounting to nearly 7.3 million Euro – that’s an increase of over 20% compared with last year.

OFID Quarterly examines the wellbeing, safety of children across the world

Vienna, Austria, August 2, 2017. “I like schnitzels, but some food, I don't like,” says 14 year-old Shokria, who is originally from Afghanistan. “I miss some special food from Afghanistan.” Shokria left her home when her father was killed and has been in Vienna for nearly two years. Her story is just one of many perspectives on child refugees examined by the July edition of the OFID Quarterly magazine, which is circulating as of today.

Helping economies recover in the aftermath of war is a top policy priority for international donors and aid agencies, motivated by perceptions that persisting economic grievances are capable of sliding countries back into violence. However, while post-conflict economic programming is often aimed at resuscitating markets and developing the private sector, there is limited evidence to support investments in these areas.

State-building has provided the framework for international engagement in countries affected by conflict for at least the past decade. Service delivery is considered one of the few viable ‘entry points’ into this complex enterprise, offering donors and agencies a relatively tangible means of supporting these processes.

Every year a quarter of all international aid – approximately US$15 billion – is spent on capacity development. However, despite the continued dominance of capacity development, results are frequently disappointing.

Key findings:

Rains are expected to continue in affected areas into the first week of June. Many dams in the southwest are overflowing or at risk of breaching.

The outbreak of dengue fever, with already over twice the number of cases as the same time period in 2016, will be aggravated by damaged health facilities and water logging due to flooding.

Executive summary

Crisis overview

Sri Lanka has been experiencing a drought in most of the country since the beginning of 2016. As of 21 February 899,235 people in Sri Lanka have been affect by drought, across nine provinces (Disaster Management Centre of Sri Lanka 21/02/2017).

The total cumulative rainfall has been below normal and erratic, despite extremely heavy rain during mid-May 2016. It is highly unlikely that the drought situation will improve before the inter-monsoon showers expected between late March and April 2017 (WFP/Government of Sri Lanka 14/01/2017).

Climate change is having devastating impacts on communities’ lives, livelihoods and food security across South Asia. Its consequences are so severe that it is increasingly contributing to migration, and this incidence is likely to escalate much more in the years to come as climate change impacts become more serious.

The quest of the last 15 years to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) taught us that Global Goals can motivate and help sustain leaps in human progress. It also taught us that the specifics matter. In some places, the MDGs became a widely-recognized, consistent and important driver of local progress; in others, the role and impact of the MDGs was more ambiguous. A lot depended on way the MDGs were implemented: if local change agents made them meaningful locally; if local leaders drew on their legitimacy and visibility; if they were employed to solve real-life problems etc.

Description:

Introduction

There is agreement in the scientific community that the global food system will experience unprecedented pressure in the coming decades – demographic changes, urban growth, environmental degradation, increasing disaster risk, food price volatility, and climate change will all affect food security patterns.

Crisis overview