Social protection is a right and should not be viewed as charity. The government must commit to better investing in the economic, social and cultural rights of citizens through stronger social protection, if not it will be difficult to achieve a just and equitable recovery from not just the polycrisis, but also the impact of Cyclone Ditwah.

The immediacy of any disaster we see the outpouring support from Sri Lankans - coming together to raise money, collect rations and clothes and deliver them where needed. But to break this cycle of stepping in where the state and government fail, we need proactive governance and planning, and not reactive as we have been for decades.

2024 was the warmest year on record. A recent report by the World Bank revealed that Sri Lanka is among a few South Asian countries identified with a temperature level that is considered too hot for people to be able to work safely outdoors for an average of six hours a day. When compared with other Asian cities, Colombo has made little or no effort to mitigate this overheating threat at a planning level. We highlight in this policy brief the impacts of heat stress on outdoor workers in the city and pathways for addressing climate change in Colombo that need to be acted on.

The impacts of COVID-19 lockdowns followed by a crushing economic crisis provided Sri Lanka the perfect opportunity to rethink what social protection means for the country, who it should be for, what it should entail and how it should be operationalised. Unfortunately what we saw was a heavy focus on one new cash transfer programme Aswesuma, which replaced the existing Samurdhi programme. This Policy Brief presents a detailed critique of the Aswesuma programme and some pathways to the new government and policy makers to strengthen social protection in Sri Lanka.

Since the lockdown in March 2020, discussions with working-class poor communities in Colombo have primarily focused on budgets and prioritizing expenditure based on needs and income. The challenge is to transform these struggles into experiences where needs can be met with well-funded institutions.

The COVID pandemic has highlighted the importance of safe environments and the rights of everyone, including access to trees, gardens, and children's playtime. Advocacy must use data and intersections to make points clear, even in court, and translate intangible aspects into comprehensible language for policymakers.

Dispossession can have generational impacts on communities, causing loss of home, land, livelihood, and way of life. Involuntary resettlement is not fair, and it's crucial to ensure communities are not worse off post relocation.