Govt. withholds nutrition pack from pregnant women who earn more than Rs 50,000

By Akitha Perera and Ranil Dharmasena

The government no longer provides the nutrition pack for pregnant women who earn more than Rs 50,000 a month and a large number of women including government servants were adversely affected by the decision, Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa told Parliament on Thursday.

Premadasa said that women had been adversely affected by the current financial crisis and the decisions taken by the government made their lot even more unbearable.

“The decision to deny access to the nutrition pack for women who make 50,000 is absurd. A few years ago, Rs 50,000 might have been a decent amount. But not anymore, it’s hard to make ends meet with 50,000,” he said.Premadasa said there had been a significant increase in child malnutrition.