WFP Sri Lanka
Situation Report
© WFP/ Josh Estey
In Numbers
3.4 million people are being prioritized to
receive emergency assistance from WFP in 2022
6.3 million people faced acute food insecurity
in June
31,724 people reached by WFP in August
Situation Update
• Sri Lanka continues to grapple with its worst
economic crisis since its independence in 1948.
As prices continue to skyrocket, the food security
situation is likely to deteriorate even further.
• Nearly one-third of the population – 6.3 million
people – were estimated to be food insecure in
June, according to the joint FAO/WFP Crop and
Food Security Assessment mission (CFSAM). The
latest WFP surveys show that acute food insecurity
worsened further in the subsequent months.
• Without food assistance, the food security
situation is expected to deteriorate further, due
to poor harvest forecasts of staple foods, import
restrictions, and the ongoing economic crisis.
• A substantial proportion of markets are
reporting concerns around rising and/or
unstable prices, according to WFP’s recently
released Market Functionality Index (MFI) report for
August. These high prices threaten to further
impact food security, with two in five households
already spending over 75 percent of their income
on food.
12 September 2022
Highlights
• In September, WFP aims to reach 120,716 people. WFP
reached 22,000 people with cash assistance in the latest
week (5 to 9 September).
• WFP has reached more than 40,000 people so far with cash
and voucher assistance since beginning its emergency
response to the current crisis.
• Without assistance, the food security situation is likely to
deteriorate in the upcoming months, according to the joint
FAO/WFP Crop and Food Security Assessment (CFSAM).
WFP Response
• 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.
Unconditional Food Assistance
• WFP reached 22,000 people with cash
assistance in the past week (5 to 9 September).
• Overall, WFP has reached more than 40,000
people with cash and voucher assistance so far
for its emergency response. This comes as part of
WFP’s scale-up to reach an additional 3.4 million
people in 2022.
• WFP is disbursing cash assistance through
Samurdhi Bank (for low-income households
registered with the Government’s social safety net)
or Western Union (households not registered as
part of the safety net). Beneficiaries in Colombo
are receiving assistance through e-vouchers in
partnership with Cargill’s supermarket.
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• WFP is reaching pregnant women with value
vouchers across 11 urban poor communities in
Colombo, namely Bandaranayake Mawatha,
Borella, Forbes Road, Kuppiyawatta, Maligawatta,
Modara, Mohideen Musjid, New Bazar, Slave
Island, St. Paul’s, and Wasala Road. Each
beneficiary received LKR 15,000 (US$40) to cover
their food and nutritional needs, working in close
collaboration with the Colombo Municipal Council.
Supply Chain
• WFP has 24,834 mt of food currently in the
pipeline, with 1,679 mt of food already in
storage, 625 mt of rice undergoing customs
clearance, and 3,900 mt in transit, including rice,
vegetable oil, and yellow split peas.

School Meals Resourcing Update

• To date, WFP has received a total of US$20.35
• WFP has procured 1,475 mt of rice and 755 mt million from the governments of Australia, Italy,
of iron-fortified rice to support 1 million children Japan, New Zealand, Norway, and Switzerland, as
with school meals for three months. The first well as from the UN Central Emergency Response
consignment of rice is now incoming. This Fund, private sector partners, and multilateral
assistance will directly support schoolchildren donors. This represents almost a third of its
through the Government’s national school meals emergency appeal for US$63 million.
programme.

Nutrition
• WFP is coordinating with the Government and
donors to provide raw materials (soya beans
and maize) to the Government’s Thriposha1 facility. Funding requirement
The Government is currently producing Thriposha (Jul-Dec 2022)

US$63M*
through its facility, but with limited food stocks.
WFP looks to complement the programme to
ensure continuity of nutrition support. WFP aims *represents emergency response requirement only, not inclusive of the US$10 million
required under the Country Strategic Plan at the beginning of 2022.
to reach 1 million pregnant and lactating women
and children under 5 to help meet their nutrition
needs. 32% FUNDED FUNDING SHORTFALL– US$ 43M

Assessments
WFP has launched a campaign to gather
support from individual donors through
• WFP released its Market Functionality Index (MFI)
its crowdfunding app #ShareTheMeal. WFP
Report for August 2022, which helps to better aims to raise funds equivalent to
understand and assess the changes in market 500,000 shared meals. Thanks to the
generosity of its donors, the campaign
conditions to inform the response. has raised over 100 percent of its target.

• WFP is conducting nationwide monthly telephone

surveys across estate, urban, and rural settings.
The surveys are gathering data on household food
security, nutrition, access to food, markets,
livelihoods, and debt. Results from the August
round will be released shortly.
It only takes a few taps on your phone to start having an
impact. Download ShareTheMeal app on App Store and
Google Play.

1
Thriposha is an additional nutritious food aimed at minimizing and preventing
maternal and child malnutrition and promoting local agricultural economy. The
product is distributed through the Government’s national nutrition programme.
3
This figure is a slight edit downwards from the previous situation reports due to
revised calculations

Contact Us:

WFP Country Director: Emergency Coordinator:

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Abdur Rahim Siddiqui: abdurrahim.siddiqui@wfp.org Satyen Tait: satyen.tait@wfp.org