Centre for Poverty Analysis

Poverty is not a single problem. It is the outcome of decisions about how risk and opportunity are distributed.

That was the thread running through the International Conference on Poverty and Development in Times of Crisis, held on 7 and 8 May 2026 at the Cinnamon Grand Colombo to honour 25 years of the Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA), in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank and ODI Global. Two days, two plenaries, seventeen thematic tracks, and the Young Researchers’ Platform, with a closing conversation on national strategies and donor partnerships.

A wrap up of the conference.

CEPA’s 25th anniversary conference as featured in FT Sri Lanka

CEPA Chairperson Nelun Gunasekara, Executive Director Prof. Sirimal Abeyratne, Central Bank of Sri Lanka Deputy Governor Dr. Chandranath Amarasekara and Asian Development Bank Country Director Shannon Cowlin on why Sri Lanka’s earlier development gains proved too shallow and what resilience must look like going forward.

🔗 https://www.ft.lk/business/Sri-Lanka-faces-shrinking-room-for-policy-mistakes-warn-experts/34-791727

Sri Lanka’s post-crisis recovery has stabilised key macroeconomic indicators, but tightening global conditions leave little room for policy mistakes or short-term stimulus, officials and development experts warned recently.

They shared these views at the inauguration of the international conference on ‘Poverty and Development in Times of Crisis,’ organised to mark the 25th anniversary of the Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA).

Speakers reflected on how the multiple shocks Sri Lanka’s economy had faced in recent years had significantly affected incomes, savings, and cost of living, exposing deeper vulnerabilities in the economy.

Read The DailyFT for more: https://www.ft.lk/business/Sri-Lanka-faces-shrinking-room-for-policy-mistakes-warn-experts/34-791727

Plenary Session 2 of CEPA's International Conference on Poverty and Development in Times of Crisis brought one of the most urgent conversations of the conference to the floor. Researchers, activists, and policy practitioners unpacked a hard truth: inequality in Sri Lanka is not stabilising, it is diverging, and economic growth alone cannot close a gap that is structural in nature. When a third of households rely on Aswesuma support, headline indicators tell only part of the story. Addressing poverty and addressing inequality are not the same task, and the policies needed to tackle each are fundamentally different.

Moderated by Nilakshi De Silva with remarks by Vagisha Gunasekara and panelists Dr. Gayathri Lokuge, Sandun Thudugala and Niyanthini Kadirgamar.

Asian Development Bank ODI

Sri Lanka must focus more on trade and finance, argued Prof. Sirimal Abeyratne at CEPA’s International Conference on Poverty and Development in Times of Crisis.

🔗 https://hirunews.lk/en/business/464597/sl-must-focus-more-on-trade-finance-than-tourism-and-remittances-prof-abeyratne