A World Bank Report entitled ‘Sri Lanka: Ending Poverty and Promoting Shared Prosperity’ found that the Tamil North-East stood out as regions with high concentrations of poverty.
The report found that Sri Lanka’s Tamils “had the highest rates of poverty among ethnic groups,” with double the poverty rate of the ethnic Sinhala community on the island.
“Poverty rates are highest in portions of the Northern and Eastern provinces, which were at the center of the conflict,” said the World Bank comparing the regions to national and international poverty levels.
The report further highlighted that, key steps had to be taken to promote inclusion and reconciliation, including “addressing land claims in the former conflict areas, providing assistance to new and former internally displaced persons (IDPs), and integrated efforts to assist widows an ex-combatants.”
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