Srilankan President Mainthipala Sirisena has called UN and International Community for drought relief. In response , the United Nations and its affiliated bodies took serious note of the impending drought situation in Sri Lanka and has assured President Mainthipala Sirisena that they would extend fullest cooperation to the Presidential Task Force to provide drought relief.
Top level UN officials, including, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, Una McCauley, the World Food Programme’s (WFP) Representative and Country Director for Sri Lanka, Brenda Barton and Ms. Emelda Berejena, Chief Technical Advisor at FAO met President Sirisena at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday (16) to discuss issues in connection with the drought and the relief organization.
The UN top officials thanked the President for establishing a Task Force to monitor and supervise the drought relief and assured that they would take every step to bring this impending calamity to the notice of the international community and seek their assistance, the President’s Media Division said. The UN representative said as the first step the UN could provide expertise in monitoring, evaluation and communication regarding the drought situation. WFP Representative said that her organization could extend the food or cash for work programme to provide employment to rural people who were denied work because of drought.
She said that food/cash for work programme is already in operation in several districts of Srilanka.
