Sri Lanka is facing an acute economic and energy crisis.
UNICEF has ramped up efforts to deliver life-saving supplies to children and families whose lives hang in the balance. But we urgently need your help to reach more children in need.
Help Children in Sri Lanka
Soaring prices are making essential supplies like food and fuel beyond reach for many families.
Emergency Update
Nearly half of the children in the country are in need of some form of humanitarian assistance.
Power is being cut for up to 13 hours a day. Tens of thousands of people are being forced to queue for hours for fuel. With soaring food prices, 70 per cent of households are now reporting reduced food consumption.
Children are at the heart of this crisis. Families are struggling to afford enough food. As public transport is cut, children are missing out on both an education and access to school meals, placing them at greater risk of being pushed into child labour.
With more than 50 years of field presence in Sri Lanka, our teams are working to reach children and families across Sri Lanka with life-saving support, but more help is urgently needed.
Help Children in Sri Lanka
Soaring prices are making essential supplies like food and fuel beyond reach for many families.
"The current crisis is stretching families to their limits. Children are going to bed distressed and on empty stomachs. If we do not act now, it is the most vulnerable boys and girls who will pay the highest price for a crisis not of their making"
2 in 5 infants
2 in 5 infants were not receiving enough nutritional food.
70%
70 per cent of households are now reporting reduced food consumption.
Even before the current crisis, Sri Lanka had the second highest child malnutrition rate in South Asia.
The fuel crisis and frequent power cuts are hindering vital services for children, including health care and education. Access to safe water for drinking and domestic use is declining, posing an increased risk of water-borne diseases
"The current crisis is disproportionately impacting the most vulnerable boys and girls in Sri Lanka, who were already confronted with the toxic combination of poverty, COVID-19, and repeated climate-related disasters."
How will my donation help support children in Sri Lanka?
Your donation can help to save lives
$59 could purchase one maternity and neonatal kit
$92 could provide 10 months' worth of food vouchers to pregnant or breastfeeding mothers
$210 could provide 500 students with access to catch-up education
How do we use each dollar donated?
- 90¢90 cents of every dollar donated to this emergency went directly to our emergency response work in the field.
- 10¢10 cents per dollar covers the essential administrative costs of raising public awareness and fundraising to generate more support for UNICEF’s emergency response.
How do we use each dollar donated?
If you choose to donate monthly, or in the unlikely event that UNICEF receives more funds than needed for this emergency response, your gift will help support UNICEF's work for children in need around the world.
Help Children in Sri Lanka
Soaring prices are making essential supplies like food and fuel beyond reach for many families.