CBK highlights need to address growing malnutrition

‘Lanka is among the ten countries with the worst malnutrition rates’

Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga has highlighted the need to address the growing problem of malnutrition, especially among the children. Sri Lanka is among the ten countries with the worst malnutrition rates among 200 countries and that over 20% of the children under five years were severely malnourished, she has said.

The former President said so while speaking at the first meeting of the National Combined Mechanism for Food Security and Nutrition of the Presidential Secretariat held recently at the BMICH under the Chairmanship of Secretary to the President Saman Ekanayake.

The ex-President participated as the Senior Advisor to the Committee. Representatives of all Foreign Funding Agencies for Food Security Projects as well as Anura Dissanayake, the Secretary to the Prime Minister and Secretaries of relevant ministries too attended.

Dr. B M S Batagoda – Advisor to the President on Food Security at the Presidential Secretariat welcomed the participants.

At the conclusion of the discussions, it was decided to provide immediate food relief to children ensuring proper delivery of food and cash handouts, accelerate action plans to increase the production of milk, eggs and vegetable, set up monitoring mechanisms of the projects implemented by civil society for food relief and involve more extensively the role of civil society organizations who are currently engaged in providing food relief to school children.

Former President Kumaratunga stated that she had agreed to function as Senior Advisor to the Committee as it was a subject of urgent national importance and not as part of the government administration.