US further assists disaster management

The U.S. Government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), awarded US $1.5 million to the Sarvodaya  Shramadana Movement to support local community leaders in developing emergency response and mitigation strategies in disaster-prone areas across Sri Lanka.

The new funding will strengthen community resilience and improve coordination between local stakeholders and international relief agencies over two years, according to the US embassy in Colombo.

“For more than three decades, the U.S. Government and the American people have provided disaster assistance to Sri Lanka.  Those initiatives saved lives, alleviated suffering, and reduced the social and economic impact of disasters, and I am proud to say that the United States remains committed to strengthening Sri Lanka’s disaster management capabilities over the coming years,” said U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Alaina B. Teplitz.  Specific activities under the grant to Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement will focus on community-led disaster mitigation activities, disaster management training, and public awareness campaigns on disaster risks.

The U.S. Government also awarded US $550,000 to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) recently to strengthen disaster management capacity in Sri Lanka. That funding will support technical assistance to government disaster management authorities on developing national-level contingency plans, leading disaster response simulations, and improving communications, coordination, and information management.

In June 2020, the U.S. Government also provided 160 rolls of plastic sheeting and 2,400 water containers to the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement to enable emergency response ahead of the monsoon and inter monsoon seasons in Sri Lanka.

The U.S. Government, through USAID, has been supporting the Government and the people of Sri Lanka for more than  three decades to prepare for, respond to, and recover from humanitarian crises.  During the last five years alone, it has invested more than US $7 million.