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

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3 years ago

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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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India plans to restore northern regular train services to pre-Ditwah frequencies before traditional New Year 2026

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2026/01/13

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Indian HC Jha and Transport Minister Rathnayake at the inauguration of Northern Railway Line restoration work (pic courtesy Indian HC)

… USD 5 mn out of USD 450 mn allocated for repairs to Northern Railway Line

IRCON International Limited, an Indian Public Sector Undertaking, has launched a major project to restore the Northern Railway Line (NRL) that suffered quite significant damage due to Cyclone Ditwah in late November, 2025.

The Indian High Commission said that under the project launched on January 11, restoration work would cover three severely affected sections of the NRL, namely Maho–Omanthai, Omanthai–Jaffna, and Medawachchiya–Mannar which led to major disruptions in rail connectivity across the Northern and North Central regions.

The Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha, and Transport, Highways and Urban Development Minister Bimal Rathnayake jointly launched the restoration work under an Indian grant of USD 5 million. The project forms part of the Indian reconstruction and rehabilitation package of USD 450 million announced during the visit of External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar to Sri Lanka.

The Indian HC spokesperson said: ” The scale and severity of the damage caused by Cyclone Ditwah necessitated urgent restoration of critical connectivity infrastructure, particularly railways, which remain vital for passenger movement, essential services, and logistics in the affected regions. In this context, the Government of India announced grant assistance for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Northern Railway Line, which was earlier upgraded with Indian assistance.

The commencement of restoration works, within less than three weeks of the announcement of assistance, reflects the priority accorded by India to time-bound delivery of development cooperation. It is planned to restore regular train services to pre-Ditwah frequencies within three months, by April 2026, ahead of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, with the remaining works targeted for completion by May 2026. The accelerated timeline will involve large-scale deployment of manpower and specialised machinery. IRCON International Limited will also complete pending ancillary works on the Maho–Omanthai railway line, for which India has recently continued its existing Line of Credit.

Railways remain a cornerstone of India–Sri Lanka development cooperation. India’s cumulative financial assistance to Sri Lanka’s railway sector stands at approximately USD 1.2 billion. This includes construction and rehabilitation of nearly 500 kilometres of railway track, provision of signalling systems across around 400 kilometres, and supply of rolling stock, significantly strengthening the operational capacity of Sri Lanka Railways and enhancing seamless rail connectivity.”

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Inauguration of first Bailey Bridge under Indian assistance package for post-Ditwah reconstruction

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2026/01/13

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A  100-foot Bailey Bridge was jointly inaugurated by High Commissioner of India Santosh Jha, the Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways, Dr. Prasanna Gunasena, and the Deputy Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr Madhura Senevirathna on January 10, 2026. The event was also attended by MP Ranjith Wijeyrathna. The bridge was installed by the 19 Engineer Regiment, Indian Army on the B-492 Highway along the Kandy–Ragala Road, restoring a vital land link between Sri Lanka’s Central Province and Uva Province. This marks the beginning of implementation of projects under India’s USD 450 mn assistance package for reconstruction post-Ditwah. The implementation has begun within less than three weeks of announcement of the package during the visit of Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar on 22-23 December 2025. Projects in other areas will also be launched in the coming days.

A press release issued by the Indian High Commission said: The bridge has re-established an essential transport corridor crucial for passenger movement, supply of essential goods, and local economic activity in the region. The newly commissioned Bailey Bridge has significantly improved access and mobility for communities in this affected area, particularly in the difficult hilly terrain. These restoration efforts are being undertaken in close coordination with the Sri Lankan Army and the Road Development Authority (RDA).

As part of this mission, four Bailey Bridge sets, with a combined weight of approximately 228 tonnes, were airlifted to Sri Lanka aboard four C-17 Globemaster aircraft, along with an engineering task force of 48 personnel from the Indian Army. This rapid mobilisation enabled the swift commencement of engineering operations despite challenging terrain and adverse weather conditions.

It may be recalled that during the visit of the External Affairs Minister of India, Dr. S. Jaishankar, to Sri Lanka on 23 December 2025, a Bailey Bridge located on the A-35 road in the Kilinochchi District of the Northern Province was inaugurated. This bridge was the first Bailey Bridge which was installed under India’s post-cyclone assistance.

In addition to the bridge inaugurated yesterday (10), another Bailey Bridge located very close to this site at KM 15 on the Kandy–Ragala Road is scheduled to be installed soon. In the next phase, over 15 additional Bailey Bridges will be constructed over the coming weeks, ensuring comprehensive restoration of connectivity across all affected areas.

India’s continued support for the restoration of critical infrastructure underscores its steadfast commitment to Sri Lanka’s recovery and rehabilitation efforts and reflects the close partnership and enduring friendship between the two countries.

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SOC acts to prevent undermining of community-based financial institutions by proposed Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill

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2026/01/13

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Sectoral Oversight Committee (SOC) on Economic Development and International Relations discussing the proposed Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill (pic courtesy Parliament)

The Chairperson of the Sectoral Oversight Committee (SOC) on Economic Development and International Relations, Attorney-at-Law Lakmali Hemachandra, MP, has proposed that the term “community-based financial institutions” be properly defined in the Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill. Declaring that the proposed new law should not undermine the community-based financial institution, lawmaker Hemachandra has stressed the need for necessary amendments to the Bill.

According to the Office of Director Legislative Services / Director Communication, this directive has been given after the relevant SOC recently obtained views of community-based financial society representatives on the Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill

During the meeting, representatives of community-based financial societies explained the role played by their societies and highlighted how they differ from microfinance and credit-providing institutions. They emphasised that community-based financial societies play a unique role in uplifting rural areas of Sri Lanka, including empowering women.

The representatives pointed out that the proposed Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill seeks to bring all microfinance and credit-providing institutions under a single regulatory authority, and that this could potentially impact the role and operations of community-based financial societies.

Commenting on this matter, the Chairperson of the Committee noted that the Bill does not contain a separate definition for community-based financial institutions. She pointed out that regulating such institutions under a common set of criteria through a central authority could hinder their fundamental objectives.

Representatives of the community-based financial societies stated that while there is a strong need to subject their societies to regulation, it is important that any amendments to the Bill should not obstruct their core objectives.

After considering these views, the Chairperson proposed that the term “community-based financial institutions” be properly defined in the Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill, and that necessary amendments be made to ensure their fundamental objectives are not adversely affected.

Accordingly, subject to these amendments, the Committee granted its approval to the Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill. As the Bill also contains matters falling within the purview of the Committee on Public Finance, the Committee further decided to refer the Bill to that Committee for consideration.

Members of the Committee, including Members of Parliament Lakshman Nipuna Arachchi, Attorney-at-Law Nilanthi Kottahachchi, Thilina Samarakoon, and Samanmali Gunasinghe.

Government officials were also present at the meeting.

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