The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) began distributing food help to thousands of pregnant women in Sri Lanka on Thursday (June 16) amidst a severe economic crisis. The organization has warned of a potential humanitarian disaster, alleging that four out of five individuals have started missing meals because they cannot afford them. In Colombo’s ‘underserved’ regions, the organization distributed 2,000 food coupons. ‘ When they skip meals, they put themselves and their children’s health in danger,’ said Anthea Webb, WFP’s deputy regional director for Asia and Pacific.
Due to depleting foreign currency reserves and mismanagement by the government, the South Asian country has had a restricted supply of food, medicines, and gasoline. In order to conserve diesel and gasoline, the government proclaimed an additional vacation and ordered all schools to close on Friday.
The World Food Programme’s efforts to assist three million Sri Lankans suffering from rising costs include the distribution of payment vouchers totaling 15,000 rupees ($40). Between July and December of this year, the organization expects to raise $60 million for the food relief program. The World Food Programme plans to assist a million children in receiving at least one meal each day at school and to offer ‘nutritious food’ to millions of newborns and mothers. Furthermore, according to the WFP, another million people will get food rations in the form of food, cash, or vouchers.
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