COLOMBO - The United Nations on Tuesday warned of a worsening food crisis in bankrupt Sri Lanka and said the number of people needing urgent humanitarian help has doubled to 3.4 million.

UN agencies had estimated in June that 1.7 million out of the country’s 22 million people required help.

The UN agencies in Colombo in a joint statement said they have raised US$79 million (S$111 million) to feed those in need.

But the increasing number of poor people means they need an additional US$70 million.

“Food insecurity in Sri Lanka has increased dramatically due to two consecutive seasons of poor harvests, foreign exchange shortages, and reduced household purchasing power,” the statement said.

Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.

It has been enduring runaway inflation, power blackouts, and fuel rationing since 2021.

The country defaulted on its US$51 billion external debt in mid-April and is in talks with the IMF for a US$2.9 billion bailout.

Months of protests against high prices and shortages of food and medicines led to the toppling of president Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July.

The UN said its revised plan aims at feeding 2.1 million people, including pregnant mothers and school children and providing livelihood support to 1.5 million farmers and fishermen.

It also said the poverty rate in the South Asian nation has doubled to 25.6 per cent in 2022, up from 13.1 per cent in 2021. AFP