Sri Lanka is the most densely biodiverse nation in Asia, and home to 21 million people from a range of religious and ethnic backgrounds. Like many other countries in the region, its rich but fragile ecosystem is at risk from natural disasters and climate change. Its civil war, raging for 30 years, claimed 100,000 civilian lives and did immense damage to the country and continues to contribute to ongoing tensions today.
In December 2004, a tsunami hit the Sri Lankan coast, damaging 80% of the coastline and displacing 1 million people. 50,000 people lost their lives.
Our country office was set up in 2005 in the capital, Colombo. This was built upon our 10-year work with partners in the region, delivering aid to the people of Sri Lanka.
In November 2006 a secondary office was opened in the town of Mutur, followed by further project offices. We work with NGO partners, UNICEF and local government programmes.
Helping Sri Lankans improve their long-term prospects is integral to the work that we do. In addition to providing emergency relief following the tsunami, we are delivering education, livelihood and health programmes.
