News
Seven million Lankans in need of humanitarian assistance:UNICEF
UNICEF has said seven million people in Sri Lanka are in need of humanitarian assistance due to the economic crisis.In its Sri Lanka Humanitarian Situation Report, issued on 02 February, the UN agency said essential services for children such as health, nutrition, and education have been severely impacted by shortages of medicine, food insecurity, lack of fuel and long power cuts.
In 2022, UNICEF reached over 1.3 million people, including 750,000 children with humanitarian assistance through humanitarian interventions.Over 800,000 people in urban areas have access to safe drinking water, 285,403 children in rural and estate areas were provided with educational materials, and 205,000 adolescents benefited from mental health and psychosocial support services in communities and in schools through UNICEF initiatives, the report said.
UNICEF also piloted a humanitarian cash transfers program which reached 3,010 mothers with young children for three months in the Colombo municipal area in 2022.
This is to be further scaled up to reach 110,000 mothers and caregivers in 2023, the report said.It said that in 2022, UNICEF appealed for 25 million U.S. dollars to provide life-saving humanitarian services to nearly 2.8 million Sri Lankans, including 1.7 million children affected by the economic crisis in Sri Lanka.
UNICEF received USD 34 million, however there is uneven distribution of funding received, it said.
UNICEF said: “Some sectors (Education, WASH and Child Protection) remain significantly underfunded, while others (Nutrition and Social Protection) have received almost triple the asked amount. This situation highlights the need for fresh funding into 2023 particularly for the underfunded sectors. In addition, the generous contribution to the cash-based programming was only made available in the fall.
UNICEF Sri Lanka Country Office launched its Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) on 10 June 2022 aligned with the UN inter-agency Humanitarian Needs and Priorities (HNP) appeal for Sri Lanka. The HAC has been funded thanks to the generous contributions of bilateral, public, and private donors. UNICEF expresses its sincere gratitude to Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Canada, Switzerland, USAID, the Central Emergency Response Fund, UNICEF USA, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (UK) and Global Thematic Humanitarian Funds and many others for their generous contributions, without which UNICEF could not meet the most pressing needs of woman, children, and most vulnerable populations affected by the worst economic crisis the country has experienced since independence. While the HNP expired in December 2022, the need for continued funding to sustain prevailing humanitarian needs post-HNP is critical.”
In terms of the provisions of the Establishments Code on payment of festival advance to government officers, there’s a possibility of obtaining rupees 10,000/- as an advance for celebrating festivals of Theipongal, Ramazan, Sinhala and Hindu New Year, Wesak, Deepavali, and Christmas as well as for pilgrimages (Sri Paada pilgrimage and Hajj pilgrimage).
Provisions have been given to recover the said advance in 08 installments or if required earlier without interest. It has been proposed by the Budget 2026 to increase the said festival advance up to rupees 15,000/-.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the proposal submitted by the Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local governments to revise the relevant provisions so that the festival advance can be increased up to rupees 15,000/- .
As per the approval given by the cabinet meeting held on 02-06-2025, action is being taken at present to offer the underutilized lands/properties of the Sri Lanka State Plantation Corporation, the Janatha Etate Development Board, and the Elkaduwa Plantation Company which are under the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure which have been identified under stage one to suitable investors.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Plantations and Community Infrastructure to provide following lands/properties on a lease basis to the suitable investors for optimal utilization following the prescribed procurement procedure.
• underutilized lands/properties identified under stage two owned by the Sri Lanka State Plantation Corporation, the Janatha Estate Development Board, and the Elkaduwa Plantation
Company,
• The Mawarala watte land and the Tea factory 40.48 hectares in extent, located in Matara District belonging to the Tea Shakthi Fund.
• The underutilized land of 1,541 hectares in extent of Kondachchi Estate is enjoyed by the Sri Lanka Cashew Corporation.
The drafting of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy has commenced with the objective of equitable distribution of the benefits of the fisheries industry and the sustainable management of fisheries and aquaculture. This policy has been updated from time to time according to current requirements. However, steps have not been taken to obtain the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers for that purpose.
According to the policy declaration of the present government, ‘Vistas of Prosperity and Splendor’ the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy has been redrafted, updating the aforementioned policy in line with the economic and development objectives of the government.
The recommendations of the Department of National Planning have been received for the drafted policy.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Marine
Resources to implement the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy, integrating it with other relevant policies.
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Festival advance for government officers to be increased
Providing underutilized lands/properties to suitable investors for optimal utilization.
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