Attachments
OVERALL PROGRESS
Context
Sri Lanka is facing a complex emergency characterized by high inflation, a deteriorating currency, food insecurity, shortages of fuel, essential healthcare services, power cuts, threatened livelihoods, reduced public services, and rising protection concerns. The crisis has been exacerbated by a reduction in domestic agricultural production due to a failed organic farming transition. The country experienced a ‘peace dividend’ between 2010 and 2016, with economic growth averaging 6.2% between 2010 and 2016. However, growth slowed in 2017 and the economy contracted by 3.6% in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decline of the global economy, rising commodity prices, a weak tourism sector, and a fiscal deficit contributed to a fall in the value of the Sri Lankan Rupee. The crisis has led to increased vulnerability, poverty, and destitution among a significant portion of the population. This has resulted in people selling assets, becoming indebted, and cutting down on food, and their children are less likely to attend school.
Although civil unrest has largely subsided since its peak last year, protests and marches continue to occur on occasion since early 2023, connected to a variety of issues, including increased electricity costs, and rising income taxes. Several trade unions, including hospital doctors, state bankers, and port workers have called for significant strike activities.
Sri Lankans are still facing a high cost of living (utility bills and taxes) and severe unemployment after being plagued for much of the year by power outages and shortages of food, medicines, essential goods, petrol, and cooking fuel.
The country still has a long way to go in rebuilding its damaged economy. The snaking fuel lines have vanished, as have the hour-long daily power outages and acute cooking gas shortages. However, excessive inflation continues to affect millions of people, and the government has halted payments of its foreign debt as its foreign exchange reserves have fallen to historic lows. The long-term consequences include a lack of secure jobs, child malnutrition, gaps in the public health system, and many migrants fleeing for better opportunities abroad, including skilled migrants (a total of 311,269 people left the country in 2022, the highest in history, of which one in five are domestic workers).
Sri Lanka has also been affected by various hazards, including weather-related events such as cyclones and monsoon rain, along with subsequent flooding, landslides, and the dengue epidemic. Of these, localized and seasonal flooding have been the greatest threat to the population, and the flood risk profile is rising due to the expected increase in the impact and frequency of hydro-meteorological extreme hazards due to climate change. During the month of May 2023, Sri Lanka also experienced the impact of the intensification of the severe cyclonic storm “Mocha” over the eastcentral Bay of Bengal, heavy wind speeds (50–60 kmph) in sea areas, and heavy rainfall in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central and North-Western provinces, along with Galle and Matara districts.
In addition, dengue cases have been on the rise in the country since the beginning of 2023. The cases reported in 2023 are three times higher than those recorded during the corresponding period in the last two years. A higher number of cases have been recorded in the western, southwestern and eastern provinces.