Thursday, July 21, 2022

Sri Lanka's Misery Continues

 Sri Lanka's president may have changed, but the dire conditions of the people hasn't.

6.7 million people are now in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. Families are facing shortages of food, fuel, cooking gas, essential supplies, and medicines as the humanitarian impacts of the economic crisis continue to multiply.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) holds particularly grave concerns for 2.4 million people already living below the poverty line who are among the most affected by the loss of livelihoods, food shortages and spiralling cost of essential items.

Sri Lanka Red Cross Secretary General, Mahesh Gunasekara, said: “We need international support now to help millions of people pull their lives back together and avoid the worse. We need to act early to ensure lives can be saved.”

IFRC’s Special advisor for Humanitarian Crises and Emergencies Maryann Horne said: With no income, people are barely able to cope, and are now selling their assets, getting into debt, being forced to cut down on food while many children are not able to go to school. The emergency appeal will allow the most urgent humanitarian needs to be met. It will help prevent those most vulnerable at a time people have no cash, no jobs, and no fuel."

Sri Lanka on brink of humanitarian crisis - Sri Lanka | ReliefWeb

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