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Civil society demands action against child malnutrition
View(s):A group of educators, religious leaders, lawyers, doctors, activists and civil servants has begun a petition that highlights dangers of child malnutrition and poverty.
The economic collapse caused by years of heavy foreign borrowing since 2007 and then the debt default in April this year have now put the lives of millions of Sri Lankan children at risk.
In their petition, civil society groups are highlighting malnutrition, vulnerability at home, loss of learning and stress due to the uncertainty of school schedules, and financial and social burdens due to online education. In addition, they focus on mental health issues, vulnerability to cyber exploitation, and unsuitable jobs.
Earlier, the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) made a global appeal.
It highlights that while Sri Lanka is among the top 10 countries with the highest number of malnourished children, a further increase in numbers is expected.
Data from their Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) report for 2022 shows that 56,000 children between 6 and 59 months have severe acute malnutrition.
Meanwhile, close to 431,000 children between the ages of 6 and 59 months are receiving multiple micronutrient powders.
In addition, 100,000 pre-school children have been reached through school feeding programmes.
Of the 2.3 million children in need, more than half are yet to be reached.
Learning has been disrupted for some 4.8 million children, with attendance rates dropping drastically because the government stopped school meals. These free meals are often the only source of nutrition for children in poverty.
Data from the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) show that nearly 11,200 complaints have been recorded for 2021.
“Over 10,000 children are in institutions [poverty is the major driver for placement] and their conditions will be compromised as the crisis worsens and as additional families place their children in institutional care since they cannot afford to feed or educate them,” states the HAC report. The appeal is for US$ 25.3 million of which 23% will be for nutrition and almost 25% for education.
The petitioners demand the creation of a national level crisis committee, if the Government is unable to address the risks to children.
While the petition has been signed by 420 people, the original petition had 25 signatories. Dr Manoj Alawathukotuwa, Professors Arjuna Parakrama and Deepika Udagama from the University of Peradeniya, Hans Billimoria and Paba Deshapriya who are child’s rights activists and co-founders of Grassrooted Trust, Bishop Duleep De Chickera, the former Bishop of Colombo, Dr Mahendran Thiruvarangan from the University of Jaffna and Professor Farzana Haniffa from the University of Colombo are among the original 25 signatories.
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