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Food insecurity increased in 2023; estate sector worst affected, says report
View(s):By Chandani Kirinde
Food insecurity at household level increased with income losses and food inflation following the economic crisis, with nearly one-fourth of the household’s food insecure during July–September 2023, a report by a parliamentary committee disclosed.
During the third quarter in 2023, 24% of the households were food insecure compared to 17% in March 2023, with the highest food insecurity (51%) observed in the estate sector, followed by rural (26%) and urban (15%) sectors.
The details were included in the report of the parliamentary committee appointed to “look into whether child malnutrition in Sri Lanka is increasing and to identify short-term, medium-term, and long-term measures to be taken in that regard as well as to oversee the speedy implementation of the identified measures.”
File photo: Soup kitchens were set up by charity organisations during the economic crisis to help poor families
The report said that during the economic downturn in 2022, 64% of Sri Lankans faced a reduction of their income, especially, 82% of daily wage earners, and 78% of farmers had to face an income reduction while 98% of the population was affected by high food prices.
In the last six months of 2022, 74% of the households investigated, could not afford to buy food or daily essentials. “As a coping strategy, 75% of households changed their cooking practices by changing the type of food items cooked and 61% of the households reduced the frequency of cooking while minimising eating out. One-third of households examined (37%), limited their portion size and 25% borrowed food from their neighbourhood,” according to details contained in the report.
Between the first and third quarters of 2023, the prevalence of food insecurity increased in all households, with an 8% increase in female-headed households and a 5% increase in male-headed households.
The average cost of energy-only diet (grains and grains-based products/ legumes, nuts and seeds/sugars and confectionery/ fats and oils) for a household in 2022 was Rs. 468 per day when the diet consists of only 1-2 food groups. Out of the household cost, the cost of a 6 –7-year-old child’s diet was 16% (Rs. 74.88 per day), while for an adolescent girl, it was 26% (Rs. 121.68 per day).
The average cost of a nutritious diet was Rs. 1,707 per household per day, and of that, a nutritious diet for a child aged 6-7 years cost an average of Rs. 256.05 per day, while an adolescent girl’s nutritious diet per day cost on average Rs. 493.03.
The report said the average cost of an energy-only diet and a nutritious diet was highest in the Colombo District: Rs. 487 per day.
The cost of protein sources (57%) was the highest among food categories, with animal sources of food amounted to 43% of the cost of a nutritious diet.
A 28% price inflation of animal protein sources was observed in 2022 with escalating prices of eggs and fish.
As immediate nutrition actions, the report recommended the identification of economically vulnerable families with under-five-year-old children and food insecurity and taking necessary actions without delay.
This they said could be done using the Health Management Information Systems data-sharing platform by identifying the hot spots of undernutrition in children and mapping to identify the most vulnerable households and other factors to address malnutrition.
The report also recommended the provision of food baskets/food vouchers with essential healthy food items (as per Ministry of Health recommendations) to vulnerable families with children under five years of age as well as cash vouchers to economically vulnerable households with preschool children.
The 21-member multi-party committee was chaired by MP Vadivel Suresh.
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