37th CFS Plenary Session, 17-22 October 2011, Rome
The CFS is the United Nations' forum for reviewing policies concerning world food. It is the most inclusive international and intergovernmental platform for all relevant stakeholders to work together to ensure food security and nutrition.
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February 18, 2011 - An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Brian Aitken visited Colombo February 9-18 to conduct discussions for the Sixth Review of the $2.5 billion Stand-By Arrangement, approved on July 24, 2009. The mission met with government and Central Bank officials, as well as representatives of civil society and the private sector. The mission issued the following statement today at the conclusion of its visit:
8 February 2011 – Fresh floods have hit Sri Lanka just weeks after large swathes of the South Asian island nation were inundated by a deluge caused by torrential rainfall, the United Nations reported today, saying that over a million people already weakened by the initial flooding are affected.
12 November 2010 – United Nations agencies have begun a joint assessment mission with the Government of Sri Lanka after record rains caused flash floods in parts of the capital, Colombo, and other areas.
The floods, which have affected several districts, have been caused by what is reportedly the heaviest rainfall in Colombo in 18 years, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported.
Press Release No. 10/317
August 23, 2010 -- An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Mr. Brian Aitken of the Asia and Pacific Department visited Colombo August 11-23, 2010, to conduct discussions for the fourth review of the Stand-By Arrangement, approved on July 24, 2009. The mission also held discussions as part of the Article IV consultation, a regular surveillance exercise that the IMF undertakes with all its member countries. The mission met with officials from the Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance and Planning, the Presidential Tax Commission, and other government ministries and departments, as well as representatives of civil society and the private sector.
The mission issued the following statement today at the conclusion of its visit:
The spike in food prices of last year (2008) underscored what experts have been telling us for many years: the world's food systems are in crisis