The World Bank has organised a high-level conference on ‘Adaptive Social Protection in Sri Lanka’ with the sole aim of preparing the country for natural disasters and climate change. According to the World Bank, improving disaster response is a crucial priority for Sri Lanka, owing to the frequency of natural and man-made disasters that strike the island nation.

The conference will review the existing policies, programmes and delivery systems in Sri Lanka, and identify gaps. Practitioners from countries with well functioning systems will present their country models and reform experiences to help Sri Lankan policy makers and stakeholders understand how the current system of social protection and disaster response can be improved.

Speakers at the inaugural ceremony include World Bank Country Director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives Dr. Idah Pswarayi-Riddihough, Agence Française de Développement (AFD) Country Director Martin Parent, State Minister of Finance and Mass Media Eran Wickramaratne, Secretary of National Policies and Economic Affairs K. D. S. Ruwanchandra and World Bank Senior Economist Dr. Thomas Walker.