Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Colombo, Dec 9 (Daily Mirror) – The United Nations has allocated US$4.5 million (LKR 1.38 billion) from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to strengthen Sri Lanka’s response to Cyclone Ditwah, which made landfall on November 28.

The funding will enable the UN to rapidly scale up emergency assistance, including food distribution, shelter support, and water, sanitation, and hygiene services for communities most severely affected by the floods and landslides.

Communities across Sri Lanka continue to grapple with widespread impacts, with thousands of families still displaced due to extensive damage to homes and infrastructure. Latest assessments indicate that the cyclone’s effects are broader and more severe than initially understood, leaving many in urgent need of sustained support to recover fully.

This funding comes at a critical moment for Sri Lanka,” said Marc-André Franche, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka. Cyclone Ditwah has upended lives across the country, and many families are still struggling to meet their basic daily needs. The UN was quick to provide support with urgent relief items and equipment. We are working closely with the Government, civil society partners, and the humanitarian community to ensure a coordinated response guided by evidence and priority needs. This emergency funding will help us reach those most severely affected with the support they urgently need.”

The UN’s global emergency fund, CERF, provides rapid funding to humanitarian responders to support life-saving activities in the initial stages of sudden-onset cris