🇱🇰 Ditwah Aftermath: Urgent Relief & Safety Focus for Women & Children 🚨

• The Cyclone Ditwah devastation has disproportionately impacted women and children, with hundreds displaced and facing compromised personal safety and security in temporary lodging. • UNICEF warns of an escalating humanitarian crisis for children: severe damage to homes/vital infrastructure, widespread displacement, and heightened risk of disease, malnutrition, and severe emotional distress. Many children have had their lives "drastically alternated overnight," losing schools, classmates, and teachers. • Immediate Government Aid: Rs. 25,000 from the President’s Fund has been announced for the educational needs of all school-going children affected by floods and landslides. • Key Needs & Recommendations: • Affected children require psychological support in addition to monetary aid. • For those in unsafe, landslide-impacted upcountry areas, the Government must provide alternate, safer land for resettlement. • An immediate measure suggested is for the Government to offer rent money for 1-2 years to allow affected persons to move into temporary housing of their choice while permanent solutions are implemented. • The crisis comes at a difficult time for Sri Lanka, still recovering from the 2022 economic crisis, but the Government is urged to utilize state funds fully to assist the large section of the population in dire need.