Overview
2022 saw Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis since its independence, with depleted foreign reserves, reduced agricultural production, political turbulence, high inflation, and increased public debt. The economic crisis, compounded by the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, posed multiple challenges to development and triggered the need for immediate humanitarian assistance across the country. Nearly 6.3 million people were estimated to be food insecure in June, according to WFP and FAO's Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission. In the face of job losses, high food inflation, and limited supplies of fertilizer and fuel, poverty has increased and is projected to remain over 25 percent in the coming years. Children were especially hard-hit, due to severe disruptions of services in education, health, protection, nutrition, and social protection. According to the United Nations’ Children’s Fund (UNICEF), over 50,000 children under 5 with severe acute malnutrition required immediate treatment.
The Government of Sri Lanka requested UN-backed multisectoral support in response to the deteriorating crisis, and the Humanitarian Needs and Priorities (HNP) was developed for the period of June to September and extended to December 2022, with the aim to assist 3.4 million people in all 25 districts. The revised HNP guided the emergency operations carried out by the UN and humanitarian partners, with three strategic objectives in place: (1) provision of food assistance and essential medicines; (2) agricultural support; and (3) protection from violence.
Recognizing the deteriorating food security situation in Sri Lanka, WFP revised its Country Strategic Plan (CSP) and scaled up its operations under Strategic Outcome 1, to accommodate the increased humanitarian needs. The CSP covers four strategic outcomes: (1) emergency response; (2) supporting the National School Meals Programme; (3) improved nutrition; and (4) resilience of vulnerable smallholder farmers. By rapidly scaling up its emergency response,
WFP reached over 1.4 million beneficiaries through unconditional cash and in-kind assistance, school meals prepared with rice provided by WFP, and nutrition support by providing raw materials to the Government’s Thriposha (nutritious fortified blended food) factory. In addition, pregnant and lactating women were assisted with e-vouchers. WFP also piloted mobile shops on trucks in Galle district, reaching 21,000 people in remote areas to access food by redeeming their value vouchers provided by WFP, where functional stores were unavailable. Within the emergency context, mobile shops reduced the distance to be travelled and cost for beneficiaries.
To better understand the prevailing food security situation, WFP rolled out high-frequency Remote Household Food Security Surveys and Market Functionality Index reports. The findings from the reports provided insights and helped formulate well-informed recommendations to improve emergency response.
WFP’s flagship R5n project (Resilience, Risk Reduction, Recovery, Reconstruction and Nutrition) continued in 2022, the final year of the project. Sri Lanka is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of extreme weather, which threatens food security by destroying food supplies, harvests, and sources of income. In 2022, WFP supported smallholder farmers with livestock development activities, agricultural machinery and equipment, and capacity strengthening for inland fishing. The Last Mile Climate Services project drew to a close, with systems in place for generating timely and accurate climate advisories and dissemination channels. Under the South-South and Triangular Cooperation with China, smallholder farmers were trained to transform their farms into profitable agribusinesses and improved their knowledge of technology.
Partnerships enabled WFP to implement its planned activities and worked towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17 by developing new and existing partnerships. In 2022, WFP strengthened its relationship with the Government, civil society, other UN agencies, and the local community, working together towards achieving the SDGs, capacity strengthening and advancing policies. This included working with the Department of Samurdhi Development on the social protection scheme, and coordinating closely with cooperating partners for timely support in the emergency response.