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A generation starving?

15 Jun 2022

  • UNICEF highlights need to minimise impact of economic and food crisis on children
BY SUMUDU CHAMARA  Even though many view the prevailing food and economic crisis as one of the worst crises that the country experienced since Independence, the only exception being the crisis experienced in the 1970s, according to agricultural and economic experts and the Government, the situation is likely to deteriorate further, and therefore, the people are advised to further tighten their belts.  The economic crisis is projected to worsen in several ways, and the most concerning impact of the economic crisis is the likely food crisis, i.e. shortages of certain types of food items and rising food prices. In addition, disruption to services provided by the public sector and impacts on various industries including those targeting export markets, among others, have already been identified by the Government as the main risks that may be posed by the economic crisis.  However, according to experts, more attention needs to be paid to identifying groups that are likely to be affected by the worsening crises, and among the most vulnerable among them are children. In the face of the high likelihood of a massive food crisis, last week, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) launched an appeal to obtain the necessary support to help Sri Lanka’s children, as the global body has identified children as one of the most vulnerable groups.  Children’s welfare amidst economic crisis  UNICEF warned that, out of more than 5.7 million people that require humanitarian assistance in Sri Lanka, 2.3 million were children, and that it hopes to reach 2.8 million people including 1.7 million children. It also noted that in line with the Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action and the inter agency Humanitarian Needs and Priorities Plan for Sri Lanka, UNICEF requires an amount of $ 25.3 million to meet the critical needs of the most vulnerable and marginalised children and their families by ensuring continued access to essential services and support. In its appeal, the UNICEF said: “Children are disproportionately affected by the rapidly unfolding economic crisis in Sri Lanka. Rising food and fuel prices along with frequent power cuts and shortages of life saving medicine, are particularly impacting the poorest and most marginalised.” Raising concerns that Sri Lanka is among the top 10 countries with the highest number of malnourished children and with the numbers being expected to rise further, the UNICEF’s appeal noted that essential health and water, sanitation and hygiene services have been severely impacted by the lack of stocks of essential commodities, and access to education and child protection services being severely constrained.  It warned that the loss and precariousness of income means that children are being exposed to violence and stress, and that increased school absenteeism and dropping out due to the current crisis could further increase such risks. In addition, UNICEF said, more families are soliciting to institutionalise their children in the face of aggravating poverty.  UNICEF explained the nature of the prevailing crisis: “Concurrent challenges of increasing public debt and fiscal deficit have impacted the availability and affordability of essential commodities such as food, fuel, fertilisers, and medicine. These in turn have disrupted livelihoods and reduced household incomes across the country. As a result, around 5.7 million people, including 2.3 million children, are now in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. Sri Lanka’s food production and harvest is expected to drop by at least 40% to 50% in the coming months resulting in a further deterioration of the situation. Families are already struggling to afford food, with 70% of the households reporting reduced food consumption.” According to the appeal, Sri Lanka is experiencing the above situation in a context where Sri Lanka remains second in South Asia in terms of wasting among children under five and where malnutrition remains a major threat. “The halted distribution of free supplementary food for malnourished children and the faltering provision of nutritious school meals will result in more children suffering from acute malnutrition. Sri Lanka's alarming food security and nutrition situation is further threatened by a reduction in the availability of safe water, thereby increasing the risk of diarrheal diseases.  “The provision of safe water has been severely impacted by the power crisis and constraints in importing purification and disinfection chemicals, including chlorine. All essential health services have been severely impacted by critical shortages of medicine. There are ongoing stock outs of essential medicines affecting pregnant and lactating women and children, which are likely to continue for several months.” In addition to food-related concerns, education, poverty and inflation are also major concerns when it comes to ensuring children’s well-being, and the lingering impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic are also major concerns, especially when it comes to education. UNICEF explained: “Learning has also been severely interrupted. Many schools just reopened following some of the longest pandemic related school closures in the region, disrupting learning for 4.8 million children. School attendance rates have fallen dramatically, and are likely to fall further with the halt in school meals which are often the only source of nutritious food for many marginalised children.  “Over 10,000 children are in institutions, where 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. High inflation and shrinking fiscal space could mean that poverty doubles in the next 24 months, with 93% of those below the poverty line being in the rural and the estate sector.  “Sri Lanka’s social protection system is fragmented, and several programmes do not reach the most vulnerable, and many negative coping mechanisms have been reported including the institutionalisation of children, school absenteeism and dropping out, limited food intake, aggravated by the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the current socio-economic and political crisis.” Moreover, UNICEF said that the current crisis is exacerbating existing protection related concerns and psychosocial issues among children, exposing them to numerous protection related risks.  Humanitarian assistance  To address the above situation and likely challenges concerning children, UNICEF said that it will collaborate with national Government partners, other UN agencies, non-Governmental organisations and civil society organisation partners to meet the urgent needs of children.  In this regard, the appeal noted that UNICEF will take a number of actions. Among them are, reaching out to vulnerable children and women with essential services, ensuring coherence between humanitarian and development programming, and scaling up preparedness and early warning efforts to monitor the evolving situation. In addition, UNICEF Sri Lanka will ensure the delivery of life saving assistance through public and private partnerships in a manner that is most equitable, sustainable, and effective.  Furthermore, as part of these efforts, the prevailing situation as well as and how the most vulnerable women and children are being impacted will be assessed further, and these efforts will remain agile in defining where the most vulnerable children are located as the situation unfolds. According to UNICEF’s appeal, priority interventions will include procuring and distributing life saving supplies, such as maternal, neonatal, and nutritional items, in response to extensive stock outs and a deteriorating food security situation coupled with messaging and counselling for infant and young child feeding.  Steps will also be taken to support the water supply sector, given the lack of water purification supplies which threatens the availability of safe drinking water in urban and rural settings, and to provide material and support to enable catching up based learning to all small, resource poor, rural schools across Sri Lanka. This is in a context where children are at high risk of dropping out and have already missed significant periods of schooling.  Explaining the importance of safeguarding children, the UNICEF said that steps will be taken to work with partners to strengthen emergency case management services for the most vulnerable children and to prevent and respond to family separation, including children with disabilities, through Government and civil society organisation partners, and to work with frontline workers, families, and youth in order to provide psychosocial support to help manage the stress and prevent violence in families. In addition, cash or vouchers will be used, depending on access to markets and the availability of products, to support pregnant and lactating mothers, using existing systems where possible. While the prevailing crisis situation is likely to further worsen, as has been noted by many parties, taking steps to reduce the impacts of the difficult times ahead on the people, especially vulnerable communities, should be a priority. While international bodies are preparing to extend their support, it is crucial that Sri Lankans too do what is in their capacity.


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