One third of SL population facing acute food insecurity: WFP

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More than one third of Sri Lanka’s population (37 percent) are presently facing acute food insecurity, a latest report released by the World Food Programme said.

The WFP report “SL:Remote Household Food Security Surveys” stated that 79 percent of the population are now resorting to coping strategies such as relying on less preferred food (78 percent), limiting portion sizes (49 percent) and reducing the number of meals (39 percent).

In 2019, food insecurity was just 9.1 percent. In June this year it went up to 28 percent and now stands at 37 percent.

Nearly four in ten households are facing insufficient food consumption with many consuming far less diverse diets due to price increases.

The World Food Programme said vulnerable households are nearing the brunt of the crisis. Female headed households are faring worse than male headed households.

Fifty one households in estate areas are food insecure. The worst affected were Central and Uva provinces. Estate and urban areas are affected more than rural areas.

The report said around eight in ten households are regularly turning to coping strategies such as sacrificing meals, borrowing food or reducing the number of meals eaten.

Among the strategies employed in the last 30 days were to borrow money from banks/pawned goods , reduce spending on education and health, spent savings and skipped debt payments.

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