An emergency programme is being set up to help 3.4 million people in Sri Lanka who are most at risk of food insecurity and malnutrition, it added…reports Asian Lite News
Over 5.5 million vehicles have been registered with Sri Lanka’s national fuel pass or QR code system, Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera said on Monday.
A total of 1,246 gas stations in the country now follow the QR code system and 4.3 million transactions have been completed, Xinhua news agency quoted Wijesekera as saying.
He said buses engaged in public transport can get extra fuel apart from the standard quota from 107 state-owned bus depots.
Sri Lankan pumps started accepting he national fuel pass or QR code system from August 1 as the country is facing a severe fuel shortage amid the worst-ever economic crisis.
The South Asia nation appointed a committee last week to select suitable companies to import, distribute and sell petroleum products in the country.
Food crisis
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is concerned about the impact of the ongoing economic crisis in Sri Lanka on food supplies for the country’s poorest.
Nearly 6.3 million people, or three in 10 households, are at risk of food insecurity and need assistance, the WFP said in a statement of thanks for an aid contribution from Norway of the equivalent of about $500,000.
Recent WFP surveys show that 61 per cent of families are either eating less, or eating less nutritious food, or even skipping meals altogether, due to the acute emergency, reports dpa news agency.
An emergency programme is being set up to help 3.4 million people in Sri Lanka who are most at risk of food insecurity and malnutrition, it added.
The island nation, with a population of about 22 million, is in the midst of its worst economic crisis since it gained independence in 1948.
Most recently, the country, which is $51 billion in foreign debt, lacked the money to import essential goods such as fuel, medicines and gas for cooking.
Food prices have risen sharply and inflation is already over 60 per cent, according to official figures.
“We are deeply concerned about the impact of the current economic and political crisis on the people of Sri Lanka,” Norwegian Ambassador Trine Joranli Eskedal was quoted as saying.
Food shortages and rising prices have had a particularly negative impact on women and children in the island nation.
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