"Sri Lanka's economic crisis could escalate into a severe humanitarian crisis": UN warns

The United Nations has warned that the current economic crisis in Sri Lanka could escalate into a severe humanitarian crisis.

Jens Laerke, a spokeswoman for the United Nations Humanitarian Agency, said the United Nations and its partners were asking for $ 47 million to meet the immediate needs of 1.7 million people at risk in Sri Lanka and those most affected by the crisis.

Foreign media have reported that daily power cuts for months, long queues for petrol and record inflation have put the lives of 22 million Sri Lankans in jeopardy.

The government has so far defaulted on $ 51 billion in foreign loans, and traders have been unable to import enough food, fuel and other essentials due to a severe shortage of foreign currency, Jens Laerke said.

Meanwhile, UNICEF Representative in Sri Lanka Christian Skoog has stated that the situation in Sri Lanka is dangerous and that 17% of children under the age of 5 in Sri Lanka were already suffering from malnutrition before the crisis.

He added that the UN Children's Agency was working to help 56,000 children, especially those with severe malnutrition.