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CBK appointed Senior Advisor to Food Security programme

10 Oct 2022

By Buddhika Samaraweera Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has been appointed Senior Advisor to the National Combined Mechanism for Food Security and Nutrition, which is headed by Secretary to the President Saman Ekanayake. The first meeting of the programme was held on 6 October at the BMICH in Colombo, under the Chairmanship of the Secretary to the President, which Kumaratunga attended in her capacity as Senior Advisor. In a communication to The Morning, the former President said that she, at the invitation of the Government, had agreed to function as the Senior Advisor to the programme as ensuring food security and nutrition is a subject of urgent national importance in the prevailing situation, but stressed that she was not involved as part of the Government. During the first meeting of the programme, Kumaratunga said that she had highlighted the urgency of addressing the problem of malnutrition in the country, especially among children. According to studies, she said, Sri Lanka is presently within the 10 countries with the highest malnutrition rates among 200 countries, and that over 20% of children under five years of age are severely malnourished. At the conclusion of the meeting, decisions were taken to provide immediate food relief to children, ensuring proper delivery of food and cash handouts; accelerate action plans to increase milk, egg, and vegetable production; set up monitoring mechanisms of the projects implemented by civil society for food relief; and be involved more extensively in the role of civil society organisations that are currently engaged in providing food relief to children. The event was attended by Secretary to the Prime Minister Anura Dissanayake, Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Shavendra Silva, and representatives of all foreign funding agencies for food security projects such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, US Agency for International Development, United Nations World Food Programme, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, World Health Organisation, and Food and Agriculture Organisation. The President's Media Division recently stated that a multi-sector mechanism to empower rural economic revitalisation centres to ensure food security and nutrition will be initiated. The relevant mechanism has been implemented through seven committees, while the National Food Security and Nutrition Council will function under the Chairmanship of President Ranil Wickremesinghe. The National Combined Mechanism on Food Security and Nutrition functions under the Chairmanship of the Secretary to the President, whereas the Technical Advisory Committee on Food Security and Nutrition is chaired by the Secretary to the Prime Minister.  


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