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Acknowledging and tackling growing child malnutrition

20 Sep 2022

In a context where numerous claims have been made that child malnutrition is on the rise and that children are one of the at risk groups in the economic crisis, Minister of Health Keheliya Rambukwella has stated that discussions are underway regarding malnutrition among children and for the provision of meals to schoolchildren. He further opined that rather than avoiding the problem at hand, these matters should be addressed promptly. The fact that the country’s Health Minister has acknowledged and paid attention to the issues pertaining to child malnutrition and the adequacy of the portion size of the meals provided to school children is admirable, especially in a context where several figures representing the Government have issued damning statements to the effect that concerns surrounding child malnutrition are false or exaggerated, and that they may even be anti-Government propaganda. The Health Minister appears to be wise enough to nip this issue in the bud, before it can cause loterm impacts on the next generation’s education and health, as they play a massive role in a person’s overall well-being. However, the solutions that the Health Minister is to bring should be practical, immediate, and sustainable. They should not face the same fate as the programme to provide sanitary pads to schoolgirls, which, as The Morning reported yesterday (19), has come to a halt and never saw the light of day again, despite the fact that it would have aided the schoolgirls’ education and made their personal lives a lot easier. When addressing this issue, it is extremely important to see this as a long-term issue that could have far-reaching impacts on the futures of schoolchildren and the country’s economic and social spheres. Schoolchildren are the country’s next generation, and the country’s future is in their hands.  The practicality of providing schoolchildren with a nutritious meal is perhaps the biggest concern, simply because the Sri Lankan authorities are not as good at implementing plans as they are at devising and boasting about them. While ensuring an uninterrupted supply of meals to schools in rural areas and underprivileged schoolchildren, dealing with contractors that provide food should be done in a practical manner. In fact, recently, it was reported that certain such contractors and school canteen owners had lamented that they are not in a position to provide the same meals at the agreed-upon rates due to the drastic increase in food prices. In this context, it is crucial that the Government decides on the composition and the nutritional value of the meals while taking into account the cost of such a meal, and refrain from forcing contractors to provide meals at unreasonable rates, which would ultimately result in the provision of a low-quality meal and would not help deal with the malnutrition issue. However, the Government has to understand that although providing a proper meal to schoolchildren could be the most immediate or main solution, it is not the entire solution. Schoolchildren still have to have a proper meal outside school, at their home or elsewhere, and for that, overall food security in the country has to be ensured as soon as possible.


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