Sri Lanka establishes high-level committee to coordinate foreign disaster relief

A High-Level Committee has been established to ensure the effective coordination, allocation, and distribution of foreign humanitarian relief assistance provided to Sri Lanka in the aftermath of the recent natural disaster.

The measure aims to guarantee that aid received from foreign governments, NGOs, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders is channeled systematically to affected communities in a transparent and accountable manner.

The Committee is chaired by Deputy Minister of Defence, Major General (Retd.) Aruna Jayasekara, and operates through a Secretariat established at the National Disaster Relief Services Centre (NDRSC).

It serves as the national coordinating authority responsible for determining how foreign-sourced relief supplies are processed, allocated, and monitored across administrative levels, including national, provincial, district, divisional, and Grama Niladari levels.

The primary role of the Committee is to ensure that incoming foreign relief aid (supplies) is properly matched to the consolidated national needs according to the database maintained by the NDRSC.

This database, built on assessments submitted from Grama Niladari (GN), divisional, district, and provincial levels, forms the baseline for determining where and how supplies should be dispatched.

The Committee will prevent duplication, reduce delays, address gaps, and ensure that the most vulnerable segments of the population, including children, elderly persons, and persons with disabilities, receive priority attention.

Operationally, the Committee will supervise the receipt of foreign consignments, documentation of items, quality assurance processes, warehousing, allocation decisions, and dispatch procedures.

It will also oversee last-mile logistics to ensure that supplies dispatched to District Secretariats are efficiently routed to Divisional Secretariats and GN divisions, with monitoring and reporting mechanisms maintained throughout.

A key responsibility of the Committee is managing the Foreign Aid Tracking System, which will enable real-time monitoring of supplies received, stored, distributed, and utilized. All line ministries, provincial administrations, and district authorities will be required to provide timely reports and feed data into the system to ensure that decisions are based on the latest verified information.

To ensure uninterrupted coordination, the Committee has been authorized to obtain necessary information, summon officials, request reports, consult experts, and issue interim directives during emergencies.

The Committee may also form specialized technical subcommittees to strengthen warehousing, logistics, procurement, or sector-specific distribution. Its decisions are binding on relevant national institutions with respect to foreign relief operations.

The Committee will remain active throughout the relief, recovery, and rehabilitation stages and will continue to oversee all foreign-assisted components until operations are formally concluded.