COVID Lockdowns: A Look at the Lower Income Tiers
My daily commute to Colombo has been on hold for quite some time since my office adopted work from home as part of our work routine. If it is anything that I…
Development
The Impact of COVID-19 on Access to Credit for SMEs
Image courtesy of Centre for Poverty Analysis Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the Sri Lankan economy. The sector accounts for nearly 80% of all businesses and contributes to…
Scattering The Gathering: Intentional or Unintentional?
In a media release dated October 21, 2021 Dr. Anil Jasinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Environment, in requesting a National Eco-tourism Plan to promote the tourism industry as well as environmental…
The Impact of COVID-19 on Peace and Poverty in Asia
Photo courtesy of Centre for Poverty Analysis The 2030 agenda for sustainable development encompasses a transformational vision for a world free of poverty and hunger through its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)…
Four Stylised Facts about Covid-19 Impacts in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is reputed for having the highest human development indicators in South Asia as early as the 1970s through notable social spending relative to its per capita income. The end of…
Layla Gonaduwa: Exploring Memory, Home and Migration Through Art
For three months Layla Gonaduwa, a self taught, interdisciplinary artist, travelled around Sri Lanka to explore the concept of memory, home and migration. She explored symbiotic and discordant relationships between within communities…
Existing Laws Adequate to Counter High Food Prices and Shortages
The introduction of the Emergency (Provision of Essential Food) Regulation No. 1 of 2021 by the extraordinary gazette No.2243/3 by the President under Section 5 of the Public Security Ordinance was subject…
Pandemic and Beyond: Replacing the Old Normal
Before the current lockdown, the Sri Lankan government asked its employees to come back to work in early August but the escalation of the pandemic and a new lockdown put a halt…
Bridging the Gender Wage Gap
Today is International Equal Pay Day Gender equality is a fundamental human right, and as a result, it is crucial to ensure that every person has equal access to social, economic, political…
Reform or Perish – Urgent Action Vital to Save Ravaged Economy
The Sri Lankan economy faces a historical crisis. The root causes are the twin deficits. First, the persistent fiscal deficit – the gap between government expenditure and income. Second, the external current…
Literacy and the Dimensions of the Digital Divide
Literacy rates in Sri Lanka have hovered in the high 90s for the past decade or so, impressive figures no doubt; enough for the country to be publicised in official publications as…
All We Need Is the Air That We Breathe
“Tiny, invisible particles of pollution penetrate deep into our lungs, bloodstream and bodies. These pollutants are responsible for about one-third of deaths from stroke, chronic respiratory disease, and lung cancer, as well…
Realistic or just Rhetoric? The Ban on Chemical Fertilizer
In early 2021, a survey conducted by the International Food Policy Research Institute, found that farmers faced food insecurity as a result of the measures that had been put into place to…
Will COVID-19 Trigger a Baby Boom or Bust?
*Sandamali is 26 weeks pregnant but she doesn’t yet know the sex of her unborn child. She lives in Bodagama with her husband and her two children, where healthcare facilities are at…
Development or Survival? Why We Need Trees
Sri Lanka’s country statement to the 21st Conference of the Parties (known as COP21) to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Paris in 2015 stated, “We are aware that…
