Australia provides $50 million to support Sri Lanka meet urgent food and healthcare need

Australia will provide $50 million in Official Development Assistance to support Sri Lanka meet urgent food and healthcare needs, the Australian embassy in Colombo said.

“Sri Lanka currently faces its worst economic crisis in seventy years, leading to shortages of food, medicine and fuel. Australia has a close and long-standing relationship with Sri Lanka. Not only do we want to help the people of Sri Lanka in its time of need, but there are also deeper consequences for the region if this crisis continues,” a statement issued by the embassy said.

We will contribute an immediate $22 million to the World Food Programme for emergency food assistance to help three million people in Sri Lanka meet their daily nutritional needs, the statement said.
Australia will also provide $23 million in development assistance to Sri Lanka in 2022-23.
This will support health services, and economic recovery, with a strong emphasis on protecting those at risk, especially women and girls. These contributions are in addition to $5 million recently provided to United Nations agencies for Sri Lanka, according to the statement.
 
Meanwhile, Australia’s Minister for Home Affairs and Cyber Security, Clare O’Neil arrived in the country on an official visit today to meet with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Foreign Minister G. L. Peiris.
 
The visit follows a phone call between Minister Peiris and Minister O’Neil early last week and coincides with the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and Australia.
 
Minister O’Neil will discuss with her Sri Lankan partners how Australia can deepen cooperation and assist Sri Lanka as the country faces very difficult economic times, as well as strengthening engagement on transnational crime, including people smuggling, the statement said.