Long-term interventions are essential to stem deteriorating food security among victims of frequent extreme weather events in Sri Lanka, experts warn.
In the last 20 months, parts of Sri Lanka have been hit by a severe drought and two bouts of floods that experts at the World Food Programme (WFP) and the government say have worsened the food security of victims.
A joint survey by the WFP and Sri Lanka government found that 31 percent of households affected by floods in early 2013 are severely food-insecure, while 44 percent of households are borderline food-insecure. Sixty-eight percent of total household expenditure is allocated to food. According to the World Bank, if a household spends more than 65 percent of its expenditure on food, the vulnerability to food insecurity is very high.Thirteen percent of flood-affected households were identified as having poor food consumption levels, and a third covered by the survey were found to have borderline food consumption scores. Currently, 41 percent of flood-affected households are adopting high and negative coping mechanisms such as skipping meals and limiting meal portions, eating less-preferred food, pawning assets and borrowing cash. This, the report says, indicates that households have had little time to recover after the drought, and that their food and livelihood security is becoming increasingly parlous. – http://lmd.lk/2013/06/01/climate-change-3/