IMF approves $206 million emergency funding for cyclone-hit Sri Lanka's recovery
The Hindu
IMF approves $206 million emergency aid for Sri Lanka's recovery from Cyclone Ditwah, addressing urgent humanitarian and economic needs.
It was signed after Sri Lanka plunged into an unprecedented economic meltdown with its first-ever sovereign default.
Several hours before the IMF decision, the parliament here approved without a vote a supplementary estimate of LKR 500 billion, which the government said was required to restore the livelihoods of those affected by the disaster.
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Cyclone Ditwah has claimed hundreds of lives and displaced scores in Sri Lanka. While it has affected several villages and towns, the highest death toll has been recorded in Kandy in the Central Province. It is part of the island’s hill country that is home to the Malaiyaha Tamils, whose centuries-old precarity makes them especially vulnerable to such shocks.
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