News

WFP finds 32 percent of Lankan households are food insecure

Published

3 years ago

2023/03/21

The latest statistics by the World Food Programme shows that 32 percent of Lankan households are food insecure.

“Over the past four months, food security levels have remained above the 30 percent range. Wholesale traders have reported a decline in prices of essential food commodities, attributing it to the recent release of food stocks in local markets. Additionally, there has been a decrease in vegetable prices due to revamping of the disrupted supply chain”, says the Remote Household Food Security Survey Brief of the WFP.

It said: “Households across the country continue to turn to food and livelihood-based coping strategies. Seven in ten households (73 percent) are adopting food-based coping strategies, and 68 percent of households are consuming less preferred food. Food and fuel prices remain a prime concern for many households. Fifty one percent of households are purchasing food on credit. Consumption of adequate diets remains low. Thirty percent of households are facing insufficient food consumption, with 40 percent consuming limited portions. Female-headed households continue to fare worse than male-headed households. Households in the estate and rural areas experienced higher levels of acute food insecurity than those in urban areas in January. Similar disparities can be found across income sources. The ongoing maha season harvest (February – March is likely to improve the situation. Despite the ongoing harvest season, a combination of factors such as less land cultivated, lower yields and the ongoing economic crisis could result in a short-lived food security situation.

“Thirty two percent of households are facing acute food insecurity in January, which continues to be of concern. Food insecurity levels are observed to be fluctuating in the thirties over the last four months. Compared to December, there was a marginal decrease in food insecurity levels in January. Severe food insecurity levels stood at 1.3 percent in January, almost similar to the past three months levels.

“The Uva province reported the highest number of food insecure households in January, followed by Sabaragamuwa. Generally, there was a marginal increase in food insecurity in Western, Uva and North Central provinces in January. Western province, however, saw a decrease of 10 percentage points. The highest number of households (84 percent) turning to food based coping strategies were from the Western province. In January, as in December, Uva and Sabaragamuwa provinces had the highest percentage of households that are food insecure.”

All News Advertisement

Latest News

Showers above 100 mm are likely at some places in the Eastern and Uva provinces and showers about 50-75 mm in other areas

Published

5 hours ago

2026/01/8

Priyan

WEATHER FORECAST FOR 08 JANUARY 2026
Issued at 05.30 a.m. on 08 January 2026 by the Department of Meteorology

The depression over the Bay of Bengal, located to the southeast of Sri Lanka, was centered near latitude 5.3°N and longitude 86.0°E, about 490 km southeast of Pottuvil, at 11:30 p.m. yesterday (07). It is expected to move west-northwestwards and towards the eastern coast of the island during next 24 hours. This system is likely to intensify further into a deep depression during the next 12 hours.

Cloudy skies can be expected over most parts of the island.
Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in the Northern, North-central, Eastern, Uva, Central and Southern provinces. Showers or thundershowers may occur at several places elsewhere in the Island after 1.00 p.m. Heavy showers above 100 mm are likely at some places in the Eastern and Uva provinces. Fairly Heavy showers about (50 – 75) mm are likely at some places in the other areas of the island.

Strong winds about (50-60) kmph can be expected at times over the Eastern slopes of the central hills, the Northern, North-central, North-western and Eastern provinces and in Hambantota, Gampaha, Colombo and Monaragala districts.

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

News

Easter Sunday attacks: Govt. says wife of Katuwapitiya Church bomber alive

Published

6 hours ago

2026/01/8

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sara Jasmine

Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala told Parliament yesterday that information uncovered during ongoing investigations indicated that Pulasthini Mahendran, also known as Sara Jasmine, linked to the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks, was not dead.

Responding to a question raised by Opposition MP Mujibur Rahuman, the Minister said there was no confirmation that Sara Jasmine was currently in India, despite speculation to that effect. He added that investigators suspected she may have fled the country and stressed that further inquiries were underway to establish her whereabouts.

“If necessary, the government will take steps to obtain a warrant,” Wijepala said, noting that legal action related to the Easter attacks had already been initiated, based on available evidence.

Minister Wijepala said the new government had launched an thorough probe to determine whether a political or other conspiracy had been behind the attacks that killed more than 270 people in 2019. However, he declined to disclose certain details in Parliament, citing the risk of hampering investigations.

Sara Jasmine, Mohammed Hashtun, who bombed St. Sebastian’s Church, in Katuwapitiya, in 2019, was long presumed to have died in a suicide blast in Sainthamaruthu, days after the attacks. Wijepala said attempts by previous administrations to establish her death had failed, with recent reports indicating that DNA tests conducted at the time were inconclusive.

During the debate, MP Rahuman recalled that senior figures, including then-Opposition MP Nalinda Jayatissa, had previously claimed Sara Jasmine was in India. He questioned why authorities had not sought an open warrant for her arrest whether the issue had been raised in talks with Indian officials.

Wijepala, responding on behalf of Deputy Minister of Defence Arun Jayasekara, said the government would not hesitate to pursue legal action, including warrants, if necessary.

By Saman Indrajith

News

Indian Army Chief here

Published

6 hours ago

2026/01/8

Sahan Weerasooriya

BIA staff welcoming Chief of the Indian Army Staff (COAS), General Upendra Dwivedi, who arrived here yesterday (07)

The Chief of the Indian Army Staff (COAS), General Upendra Dwivedi arrived in Sri Lanka yesterday (07). On arrival, the COAS was accorded a Guard of Honour by the Sri Lanka Army.

The Indian HC said that: “He will engage with senior military and civil leadership, including the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, Deputy Minister of Defence and the Defence Secretary; and hold detailed discussions on matters of mutual interest, including training cooperation, capacity building and regional security.

During the visit, the COAS will address officers at the Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC) and interact with officers and trainees at the Army War College, Buttala, reflecting India’s strong commitment to defence education and professional military exchanges with Sri Lanka.

General Dwivedi will also pay homage at the IPKF War Memorial, honouring the supreme sacrifice of Indian soldiers.”

General Dwivedi arrived here from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where he attended several events during 05 to 06 January.