The European Union is allocating €150,000 (over 47 million Sri Lankan rupees) to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to people affected by recent floods in Sri Lanka. The funding will benefit over 40,000 people in some of the hardest-hit areas in the western and northwestern provinces.
This EU funding will support the Sri Lanka Red Cross in delivering assistance to address the basic emergency needs of people that have lost their homes or livelihoods. Other funded activities include first-aid services and mobile medical camps, as well as cleaning campaigns and actions to prevent possible outbreaks of dengue and other flood-related diseases.
The funding is part of the EU’s overall contribution to the Disaster Response Emergency Fund (IFRC-DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). It comes in addition to a contribution of €200 000 following floods in the country this summer.
In the past weeks, heavy rainfall has caused serious flooding in the northwest and west of the country, affecting over 150 000 people. More than 10 000 people had to go to shelters, in particularly in the districts of Colombo, Gampaha and Puttalam.
