Food Assistance to Internally Displaced People and Returnees in Sri Lanka - WFP 2011-2012

14 June 2011 – Sri Lanka is emerging from a prolonged civil conflict that devastated the physical infrastructure in the north of the country destroyed livelihoods and severely damaged the ability of individual families to provide for their own basic needs. Since the conflict ended in May 2009 attention has shifted to reconstruction and development but the remaining internally displaced people (IDPs) and recent returnees face ongoing challenges in accessing food adequate shelter basic services and help in resuming their previous occupations. CIDA’s support is helping the World Food Programme (WFP) meet the needs of approximately 371 000 IDPs and returnees in northern Sri Lanka. Under this operation WFP aims to provide food assistance to IDPs and vulnerable returnees; supplementary feeding aimed at pregnant and lactating women and young children; and school feeding for children in five districts. WFP also supports returnees seeking to rebuild their lives through the provision of food-for-assets and food-for-training.