Response to the Presidential Secretariat’s reply

FactCheck thanks President’s Advisor Shiral Lakthilaka for his reply to the factchecking of President’s statement: “Around 16 or 17 percent of Sri Lankans are undernourished“. FactCheck agrees with Mr. Lakthilaka’s clarification that definitions of undernourishment can vary (see original article: factcheck.lk). However, the only relevant data that FactCheck found, for the whole population, was that published by the UN FAO. It evaluated the undernourishment rate to be much lower – at 10.9 percent. As such, the verdict of the original factcheck stands. If Mr. Lakthilaka or the Presidential Secretariat could cite any other source with higher poverty estimates, which the President might have drawn upon, FactCheck would be happy to reconsider the verdict given to this claim.

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This is an extract from a fact check published on @factchecklka Facebook page on November 14, 2019 (factcheck.lk). For the extended write-upplease see: www.factcheck.lk.