Supporting starvation in Sri Lanka – By Dr Harold Gunatillake
Transcript:
Over six million people, or over 28 per cent of Sri Lanka’s population, are “food insecure”, and this situation is likely to deteriorate as the crisis unfolds in the island nation, which is grappling with its worst economic crisis, according to the World Food Programme. Almost 6.3 million people in Sri Lanka are unsure of where their next meal will come from, according to a food security assessment by the World Food Programme (WFP). With staggering malnutrition, the organisation warns of “grave consequences” where pregnant women cannot obtain the necessary nutrients.
“We’re witnessing a tragic series of events that are unfolding in Sri Lanka right now that should be a warning to anyone who thinks that it is up to countries themselves to figure out https://youtu.be/etaLI6mQVNI how to deal with this crisis,” says Achim Steiner, administrator of the UN Development
Programme (UNDP).
The United Nations Development Programme is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. Skipping meals The WFP warns that the lack of good nutrition in Sri Lanka puts pregnant mothers and their babies at risk. It is not uncommon that Sri Lankan families only have access to rice and gravy, the organisation reveals.
Concerns are growing that the global food crisis has not yet reached its peak, with predictions that inflation will continue to creep up. By next year, the problem will become about affordability, not availability. The food-assistance branch of the United Nations, the World Food Programme (WFP), warns that 2023 might be even worse than the crippling events of 2022, underscored by food prices remaining stubbornly high.
Currently, food prices are the challenge, not food availability, according to WFP’s chief economist, Arif Husain. But for how long? “There is food available, but the prices are high,” he stresses. “But if we are unable to deal with certain things like the availability of fertiliser, not just it being available but available at an affordable cost, then this crisis will turn into a crisis of availability, come next year.”
According to Husain, the challenge has been a challenging year for farmers’ fertilisers doubled this year. Those costs are then passed onto the consumer, resulting in higher prices across food products.
Affordability crisis Lighting Little Candles Without Cursing The Darkness Individual Samaritans, families, societies, and organisations, including the World Food Programme, support the ‘food insecure people in Sri Lanka. Candle Aid is an organisation helping people in need, irrespective of what race they belong to or which God they worship, headed by Candle aid has been a longstanding organisation helping the hungry people to alleviate poverty in Sri Lanka by addressing education, health, shelter, food, and other needs. Elmo Jay, the pioneering organiser, states that he is attempting to get their story to the world to the best of his ability.
Elmo Jay, pioneer organiser of Candle Aid, said, On August 23, it was revealed on television and in newspapers that 60% of our people could not afford three meals. It was stated that they skip one meal every day. I have no statistical evidence but in my honest opinion, 60% of the people can only afford one meal. That, too, sans the essentials of a basic meal.
On June 28, CandleAid launched a unique food program where selected families living below the poverty line were given dry rations of LKR 10,000.
Elmo said that he would like to appreciate and thank the 52 coordinators who have done an outstanding job in providing dry rations to 800 deserving households. CandleAid’s volunteer coordinators distributed the distribution throughout various provinces in Sri Lanka. There were 52 selected deserving families, and we gave them dry rations to the value of LKR 10,000.
Collective kindness has helped many people on the island. CandleAid Lanka is a Sri Lankan humanitarian organisation that is, at its core, a link between someone’s generosity and another person’s area of need.
CandleAid Lanka (formerly AFLAC International) was founded in 1995 by Capt Elmo Jayawardena, a Sri Lankan pilot then employed with Singapore Airlines. He and an Executive Committee of two Vice-Presidents and five Directors run CandleAid. Other than CandleAid’s office staff of less than fifteen, all its Directors, Branch Representatives and Project Coordinators work on a volunteer basis.
Founded upon the adage “It is better by far to light a solitary candle than to curse the darkness”, CandleAid was formed to alleviate poverty in Sri Lanka. It is modelled on the belief that every person can do something to help another, irrespective of class, wealth or status. We welcome anyone who wishes to lend a hand to underprivileged people in Sri Lanka, whether as a volunteer worker or a donor. CandleAid works across political, ethnic, and religious boundaries in Sri Lanka to provide help where help is needed and to address a need where there is one.
CandleAid has independent representatives in many countries whose task is to engender awareness in people of the needs and difficulties faced by the poor in Sri Lanka. See less The following are some pictures of the poor people supported by this organisation.
I hope you like this video presentation on the future food crisis we may need to face, hopefully not.
Stay safe, and goodbye for now.
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