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Sri Lankans struggling to buy food, says WFP report

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Nearly a half of Sri Lanka’s households are adopting livelihood-based coping strategies to buy food, says a recent report published by the World Food Programme.

The WFP’s ‘Sri Lanka – Household Food Security Survey: Preliminary Findings, December 2023’ says that 43 percent of households were adopting livelihood-based coping strategies to cope with the lack of adequate food. Borrowing money to buy food and purchasing food on credit were the most commonly adopted strategies, by 27 and 26 percent of households, respectively, says the report, adding that households remain vulnerable to future shocks and stresses.

“According to the survey, a high proportion of estate households (80 percent) adopted livelihood-based coping strategies, followed by 50 percent of urban households. In the rural sector, 41 percent of households are resorting to coping strategies. In terms of household characteristics, 43 percent of male-headed households and 42 percent of female-headed households are turning to livelihood-based coping strategies. While this is not a significant difference, a larger proportion of female-headed households are adopting more severe coping strategies compared to male-headed households such as selling assets and spending savings,” it said.

The report has identified six livelihood-based coping strategies such as borrowing money, purchasing food on credit, spending savings or skipping debt payment, selling jewellery to buy food, reducing the spending on education and health and selling household assets. It has been observed that 27 percent of households relied on borrowing money while 26 percent opted for purchasing food on credit. Five percent of the household sample of the survey resorted to selling household assets and 16 percent chose to sell jewellery to buy food. It has been observed that 19 percent of the sample relied on the strategy of spending savings or skipping debt payment while 14 percent reduced spending on education and health.

According to the survey, households relying on social protection schemes, such as Samurdhi, as their main source of income have the highest levels of food insecurity (57 percent), followed by households dependent on humanitarian assistance (49 percent), and unskilled agricultural labour (37 percent). The lowest percentage of food insecure households are among those who have regular and stable income sources.

When comparing the survey results with March 2023, agricultural producers reported a significant deterioration in their food security status. For instance, a larger proportion of households relying on the production and sale of vegetables and fruits, and staple crops such as rice are food insecure during the current reporting period compared to March which was Maha harvest season.

The report said: “WFP and FAO jointly conducted a second CFSAM in March 2023, where a significant improvement in food security was noted, with 17 percent of the population estimated to be food insecure. This 11-percentage point decrease is attributed to better food consumption due to reduced prices and improved income during the harvesting period.

“Between August and October 2023, WFP conducted a panel survey of 8,741 households that were interviewed in March through a face-to-face data collection approach to produce representative estimates at national and regional levels. The survey employed a 2-stage stratified cluster sampling methodology in which a fixed number of primary sampling units (PSUs) were randomly selected at the first stage and within each PSU, 10 households were selected for interview.

“This preliminary report provides an update on the overall food security situation since March 2023, and it comes as part of WFP’s efforts to expand its evidence generation initiatives to inform the response among government and humanitarian/development partners in Sri Lanka.”



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Landslide Early Warnings issued to the Districts of Badulla, Kalutara, Kandy, Kegalle, Kurunegala, Matale and Monaragala

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The National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) has issued landslide  early warnings to the districts of Badulla, Kalutara, Kandy, Kegalle, Kurunegala, Matale and Monaragala effective untill 2100hrs on 12th May 2026.

Accordingly,

Level II landslide early warnings have been issued to the divisional secretaries division and surrounding areas of  Passara in the Badulla district.

Level I landslide early warnings  have been issued to the divisional secretaries divisions and surrounding areas of Bandarawela in the Badulla district, Walallawita in the Kalutara district, Pasbage Korale,  Akurana,  Gangawata Korale,  Panvila,  Yatinuwara,  Ganga Ihala Korale,  Doluwa and  Udapalatha in the Kandy district, Mawanella,  Bulathkohupitiya,  Yatiyanthota,  Aranayaka,  Kegalle and  Rambukkana in the Kegalle district, Rideegama in the Kurunegala district, Rattota, Naula and Ambanganga Korale in the Matale district and Badalkumbura and Wellawaya in the Monaragala district.

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Showers about 100 mm are likely at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, Uva, Southern, North-western, Northern and North-central provinces and in Trincomalee district.

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WEATHER FORECAST FOR 11 MAY 2026
Issued at 05.30 a.m. on 11 May 2026 by the Department of Meteorology

 

The low-level atmospheric disturbance in the vicinity of Sri Lanka is likely to develop into a low-pressure area around the next 36 hours. Therefore, the prevailing showery conditions over the island are expected to continue during the next few days.

Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in most parts of the island and Cloudy skies are expected, under the influence of the aforementioned system. Heavy showers about 100 mm are likely at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, Uva, Southern, North-western, Northern and North-central provinces and in Trincomalee district.

The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damage caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.

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Treasury theft: Speaker’s conduct brought to IPU’s attention: SJB  

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Dayasiri

SJB MP Dayasiri Jayasekera has sought the intervention of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) to pressure the JVP-NPP government to respect the rights of the Opposition.

MP Jayasekera told The Island that they wouldn’t allow the NPP to suppress the truth regarding the theft of Treasury funds amounting to USD 2.5 million. He accused Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickremaratne of depriving the Opposition of its legitimate rights, at the behest of the government.

Jayasekera said that the Speaker’s conduct regarding the action taken against Deputy Secretary General of Parliament Chaminda Kularatne, too, had been brought to the notice of IPU and other international associations.

The text of MP Jayasekera’s letter to the Secretary general of IPU: “I respectfully submit this petition seeking the attention and intervention of the Inter-Parliamentary Union concerning a matter affecting parliamentary accountability, the rights of elected representatives, and the proper functioning of constitutional oversight within the Parliament of Sri Lanka.

On 06 May 2026, I Dayasiri Jayasekara MP submitted a formal request to the Hon. Speaker of Parliament seeking permission, under the Parliament (Powers and Privileges) Act No. 21 of 1953 and Standing Order 29(1), to raise a question of privilege regarding alleged constitutional and parliamentary violations by Mr. Harshana Suriyapperuma, Secretary to the Treasury of Sri Lanka.

The proposed privilege motion raised matters including:

1. Alleged violations of Articles 148, 149, and 150 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka concerning parliamentary control over public finance;

2. Alleged failure to report to Parliament concerning a controversial and unlawful transfer of approximately USD 2.5 million from the Treasury;

3. Alleged non-compliance with parliamentary committee procedures under the Standing Orders of Parliament;

4. Questions relating to constitutional eligibility under Article 91(1)(d)(xiii) of the Constitution concerning dual citizenship and qualification to sit and vote in Parliament;

5. A request that the matter be referred to the Parliamentary Ethics and Privileges Committee established under Standing Order 118.

 Despite the seriousness of the constitutional and parliamentary issues raised, the Hon. Speaker declined permission for the privilege issue to be raised in Parliament.

It is respectfully submitted that this refusal has the effect of:

•  Preventing an elected Member of Parliament from exercising his parliamentary oversight function;

• Restricting parliamentary scrutiny over matters involving public finance and constitutional accountability;

•  Undermining the privileges of Members of Parliament to raise matters of urgent public importance;

•  Limiting institutional transparency concerning allegations involving senior state officials.

The right of parliamentarians to raise questions of privilege and matters relating to constitutional governance is an essential component of parliamentary democracy and legislative independence. The refusal to permit even the presentation or preliminary consideration of such a matter raises serious concerns regarding parliamentary accountability mechanisms in Sri Lanka.

Accordingly, I respectfully request that the Inter-Parliamentary Union:

1.Take cognizance of this matter as one affecting the rights and functions of Members of Parliament;

2.Seek clarification from the relevant parliamentary authorities in Sri Lanka regarding the grounds upon which the privilege motion was disallowed;

3.Consider whether the refusal is compatible with internationally recognised principles of parliamentary democracy, accountability, and freedom of parliamentary speech;

4. Encourage the Parliament of Sri Lanka to ensure fair and transparent procedures governing parliamentary privilege motions and constitutional oversight.

I further request that this communication be placed before the appropriate committee or mechanism within the IPU dealing with the rights and duties of parliamentarians.”

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