The United Nations has launched 35 million dollar appeal to raise funds to immediate disaster relief for victims of cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka, Resident Coordinator Marc-André Franche said.

While initial contributions from bilateral partners and US$ 4.5 million.

UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has contributed 4.5 million dollars.

Support from Australia, Canada, the European Union, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States has taken the fund to 9.5 million US dollars.

“And we are now seeking to mobilize the remaining 26 million dollar to be able to cover the gap,” Franche said.

“So we are appealing to the international community. We are appealing to each of our member states to support Sri Lanka in this time of need and to support the humanitarian type of aid in response to this disaster.”

The initiative called the Humanitarian Priority Plan will be used in the next four months for urgent relief work called the

Humanitarian Priorities Plan (HPP) will be used in education; food security, agriculture and nutrition; health; protection; shelter, non-food items and camp coordination; water, sanitation and hygiene; and early recovery.

About 800 Sri Lankan were killed or missing in the Cyclone Ditwah disaster which was a slow-moving weather system that took more than two days to pass across the island, affecting close to two million people in floods and landslides.

Source-ECONOMYNEXT -Thursday December 11, 2025