Oslo, 2 August 2022 (TDI): Norway has expressed great concern about the current situation in Sri Lanka. It is a valid concern because the current economic situation has severe impacts on women and children.
Norway provides NOK 13 million to provide food security and protection for Sri Lanka. Hence the concern about the grave humanitarian situation in the country.
The grave humanitarian situation in #SriLanka has a severe impact on women & children.
Norway provides NOK 13 million to support @UN‘s efforts for food security & protection. It will help the acute need for food, nutrition & protection.
-FM @AHuitfeldt➡️https://t.co/Z2Tfbf76OS pic.twitter.com/XaQrCQC0rX
— Norway MFA (@NorwayMFA) August 2, 2022
The Minister of Foreign Affairs for Norway, Anniken Huitfeldt said “I am concerned about the food and nutrition crisis we are now witnessing in Sri Lanka.
The grave humanitarian situation has a severe impact on women and children. Norway is providing NOK 13 million to address the acute needs”.
Problems for Sri Lanka
There is a fear in the UN that the ongoing situation could be changed into a full-scale humanitarian crisis because of the current political and economic crisis in the country.
The huge hike in the price of even the basic items such as rice and wheat is making life difficult for the people. There is also a shortage of fuel and medicines. Due to the shortage of fuel, it gets very difficult for food to reach markets.
Sri Lanka has a huge number of malnourished children and the ongoing crisis is further increasing the number because children and women are mainly affected by the crisis.
Women and children are also greatly vulnerable to gender-based and sexual violence. The UN has developed a humanitarian response plan which will tackle this issue.
Norway will provide NOK 5 million to the World Food Programme (WFP) whose target will be the vulnerable groups.
In addition to that, NOK 5 million and NOK 3 million will be provided to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in the country.
