In Numbers
36 percent of households are food-insecure (October 2022)
3.4 million people are being prioritized to receive emergency assistance from WFP in 2022
7 million people in need
Highlights
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Over 1.1 million people have received WFP assistance since the start of the emergency response.3
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556,929 schoolchildren have received school meals prepared with rice supported by WFP.
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WFP has reached 101,568 people with in-kind food assistance.
Situation Update
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Over three in ten households (36 percent) are food-insecure according to WFP’s recent Household Food Security Survey in October 2022. Over seven in ten households are adopting food-based coping strategies such as eating less preferred food, continuing the alarming trend observed since June. Meanwhile, a staggering eight in ten households are turning to livelihood- based coping strategies such as selling productive assets, the highest observed since June.
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According to the latest World Bank Food Security Update, Sri Lanka is among the top 10 countries in the world affected most by high food inflation, with an annual inflation rate at 81 percent.
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According to the Colombo Consumer Price Index, the year-on-year headline inflation in November stood at 61 percent. Food inflation in urban areas of Colombo remained high at 73.7 percent, despite a decline from 85.6 percent in October.
WFP Response
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WFP’s economic crisis response aims to reach a total of 3.4 million people across three main activities: (1) unconditional food assistance through cash or in-kind; (2) school meals; and (3) nutrition support.
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As of early December, over 1.1 million people have received WFP assistance so far.