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Half of Lankan families reducing children’s food intake as country slips further into hunger crisis – Save the Children

Published

3 years ago

2023/03/3

Half of families in Sri Lanka are forced to reduce the amount they feed their children, according to a survey by Save the Children, as the country’s economic downturn spirals further into a full-blown hunger crisis nearly a year after the government defaulted on its debt.The government and international community must act now to prevent the country’s children from becoming a lost generation, the child rights organisation said.

Since the Sri Lankan government defaulted on its debt nearly a year ago, soaring inflation and food, medicine and fuel shortages as well as a lack of stable employment have left families unable to cope. The country has the seventh highest nominal food inflation rate in the world, according to the World Bank, with year-on-year inflation in the country more than 50%.

Save the Children’s latest survey of 2,308 households across nine districts in Sri Lanka found that due to this inflation, average household expenditure increased by 18% between June and December last year. During this time there was a 23% increase in households unable to meet most or all of their general basic needs, Save the Children said.

Because of this, over the past six months, more families have had to resort to desperate measures to survive, with a 24% increase in households saying they had resorted to borrowing money in order to cover household expenses; a 24% increase in households saying they had to purchase food on credit; and a 28% increase in households selling household items for cash[v].

Female-headed households are particularly vulnerable, Save the Children said, as women are increasingly at risk of trafficking or exploitation, working overtime and in some cases migrating for work. This in turn puts children at risk as they are left alone, according to the child rights organisation.

While half of households said they are cutting their children’s food intake, 27% reported adults skipping meals to feed their children. Nine out of ten households said they cannot guarantee nutritious food for their children.

Suren* and Preethika*, from Colombo, struggle to provide a well-balanced meal for all three of their children. Even simple nutritional foods, such as eggs and yoghurt, have become too expensive for the family to afford, limiting the items they are able to feed their children. On most days, they are forced to prioritize their toddler’s nutrition.

Their 11-year-old daughter Thisuri* said that she and her 8-year-old sister Ayama* now often go without things like yoghurt because their parents can only afford to provide it for their one-year-old sister, Hiruni*.

Thisuri* said: “We really like to eat yoghurt too, but most of the time my parents can only afford to buy yoghurt for my youngest sister. Whenever they have extra and can afford it, they buy the two of us yoghurt too.”

“Things are so expensive in shops now. It was never like this before.”

The survey also found that 70% of households lost all or most of their sources of income between June and December last year. Among these, more than half of households (54%) now source their main household income from jobs that are seasonal and irregular. This instability is putting children in the precarious position of not knowing where their next meal is coming from, Save the Children said.

Julian Chellappah, Save the Children’s Sri Lanka Country Director said: “These figures show how the crisis in Sri Lanka continues to spiral out of control and how, as with any crisis, children are bearing the brunt with their physical and mental health, nutrition and education all at risk. These children were born into hope as the country’s post-war generation – but we are in grave danger of failing them once again.”

“Parents should never have to choose who in their family gets to eat a meal. Everything we are seeing here points to a very real danger of a full-blown hunger crisis. The Sri Lankan government is giving much-needed support to some families through welfare schemes, but we need a rapid build-up of social protection systems with support from the international community. This is an emergency situation that requires an emergency response.”

All humanitarian interventions must factor in patriarchal gender dynamics of communities in order to best meet needs, Save the Children said.

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Ravi demands full disclosure on Lanka’s usable reserves, flags forex leakages

Published

3 hours ago

2026/02/21

Thilina Walpola

Ravi

Opposition MP Ravi Karunanayake on Wednesday called for an urgent government statement to Parliament on the integrity and usability of Sri Lanka’s Gross Official Reserves (GOR), raising concerns over foreign exchange leakages and regulatory consistency under the Foreign Exchange Act No. 12 of 2017.

Raising the issue under Standing Order 27 (i), Karunanayake urged the Government to provide a comprehensive disclosure on the composition, encumbrances and deployability of the country’s reserves, as well as on the Central Bank’s oversight of foreign currency transactions.

“Reserve credibility depends not merely on headline numbers, but on transparency, enforceability and consistency in regulation,” the MP told the House.

He sought clarification on the latest reported GOR figure and the net usable reserves after excluding encumbered assets, swaps and pledged balances. He also requested details of annual revenue earned on reserves from 2023 to 2025.

Following are the questions raised by MP Karunanayake:

1. What is the latest reported GOR figure, and what is the net usable reserve after excluding encumbered assets, swaps, and pledged balances? What is the revenue earned on are GOR 23-25 per year?

2. Provide a separate and detailed breakdown of GOR, including: (a) Monetary gold (quantity and valuation basis) is it real gold or gold paper? (b) Foreign currency assets by major currency and instrument; (c) SDR holdings; (d) IMF reserve position; (e) Foreign currency swaps, specifying counterparty type, principal amount, tenure, maturity profile, and all-in cost; (f) Domestic swaps, specifying amount, tenure, rollover terms, collateralisation, and effective cost.

3. Of the total reserves reported, how much is encumbered, swap-backed, or otherwise not immediately deployable for debt servicing or currency stabilisation?

4. What SLR spread, fee, or margin does the Central bank apply when buying or selling USD to the Government for reserve accumulation and external debt servicing and what total profit or gain has the C.bank realised from such transactions during the past three financial years? Advice per year.

5. Is the Central Bank subject to continuous and statutory audit by the Auditor General? If so, will the Government table the most recent audit report, specifying audit scope, sample size, reserve confirmations, swap verification and gold custody validation?

6. What triggered the recent circular warning domestic institutions on foreign currency transactions?

7. Has the C.bank quantified foreign exchange and tax revenue losses resulting from Sri Lanka-based businesses routing credit card and commercial payments through overseas payment gateways?

8. If domestic entities are regulated strictly, why has a binding circular not been issued against noncompliant business entities using foreign payment gateway arrangements that divert foreign exchange outside Sri Lanka’s regulated banking system?

The government asked for two weeks’ time to respond to the queries.

by Saman Indrajith

News

Sajith exposes highly questionable coal imports from South Africa in 25 vessels; calls for independent probe

Published

3 hours ago

2026/02/21

Thilina Walpola

Sajith

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa yesterday alleged in Parliament that eight recently imported coal shipments were substandard and called for an independent probe into the matter.Speaking in the House, Premadasa said Sri Lanka typically requires 36–38 coal shipments annually. While 11 Russian shipments received so far had raised no concerns, he claimed that 25 vessels ordered from South Africa under a new tender were facing quality issues.

He cited combustion reports from the Norochcholai Coal Power Plant showing that the eight shipments already received under the new tender failed to generate the expected 300 megawatts per unit. According to the MP, the outputs were: 285 MW, 290 MW, 260 MW, 295 MW, 285 MW, 270 MW, 275 MW, and 255 MW.

“These are scientific data generated automatically through boiler combustion reports that cannot be altered,” Premadasa said, asserting that the figures indicate the coal supplied was below required standards.

He warned that low-quality coal could increase fuel consumption, raise operational costs, and damage equipment. Any shortfall in power generation, he said, would necessitate additional coal imports or greater reliance on diesel power, ultimately driving up electricity tariffs for consumers.

“The loss will have to be borne by the electricity consumer,” Premadasa said, urging the government to clarify whether the shipments met required specifications.

He also criticized delays and changes in tender requirements, alleging that supplier eligibility criteria had been relaxed to allow non-standard providers.

by Saman Indrajith

News

Ex-TRCSL Chairman Palpita enlarged on bail

Published

3 hours ago

2026/02/21

Thilina Walpola

Former Mass Media Ministry Secretary and former Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) Chairman Anusha Palpita was yesterday released on bail by the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court.Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama granted bail after considering submissions made by officials of the Bribery Commission and counsel for the defence.

The Magistrate ordered the suspect’s release on two personal surety bonds of Rs. 5 million each and imposed a foreign travel ban.

When the case was taken up, Bribery Commission officials informed court that a report had been called regarding alleged investments made by the suspect in the stock market. They sought a further date to present facts pertaining to those reports.

Appearing for the suspect, Attorney-at-Law Kanchana Ratwatte submitted that his client had been in remand custody for nearly a month and was prepared to extend full cooperation to investigators. He moved for bail on that basis.

After hearing both sides, the Magistrate observed that no reasonable grounds had been placed before court to further remand the suspect and ordered his release on bail. The case was fixed for 29 May.

Palpita was arrested on 23 January in connection with an investigation initiated by the Bribery Commission over the alleged failure to disclose the source of assets amounting to Rs. 46 million.

The Commission stated that he had arrived at its office on the day of his arrest to give a statement and was taken into custody thereafter.

He was arrested on allegations of amassing assets and property disproportionate to his declared income during a specified period, following a probe into wealth allegedly accumulated beyond his lawful earnings.