Today, the UK announced a £3 million humanitarian package for Sri Lanka, providing vital support to the most in need.
British High Commissioner Sarah Hulton said that “This new package will provide multipurpose cash, livelihoods and other support to those most in need across the country including: pregnant and nursing mothers, children, low-income fisherman and daily wage labourers. This latest announcement is part of our wider engagement to support Sri Lanka including through the World Bank, IMF and our long-running programmes to address the legacies of conflict.”
This funding will provide targeted assistance to the most vulnerable through UN and Red Cross partners. This comes on top of the $5m already provided to Sri Lanka through the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (to which the UK is the largest donor), and the UK’s ongoing support through the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
The UK supported an £11.2m programme running from 2019-2022 that addressed many of the issues still affecting Sri Lanka as a result of the civil war. The UK also supported the clearance of 9,733 items of explosive ordnance and landmines in the North and East, releasing 1,205,430 square metres of land which benefited 96,500 people. The programme also supported the resettlement of about 17,000 internally displaced people and refugees, provided mental health and psychosocial support to 716 people traumatised by conflict, and helped strengthen the capacity of seven community based organisations to respond more effectively to victims of sexual and gender based violence. A new £11.3m follow-up programme was announced earlier this year to build on the previous initiative.