News

Nearly 16,000 children in SL suffer from acute malnutrition!

Published

1 month ago

September 9, 2024

editor

The report of the Select Committee of Parliament to look into whether the child malnutrition issue in Sri Lanka is aggravating and to identify short term, medium term, and long-term measures to be taken in that regard, as well as to oversee the speedy implementation of the identified measures was presented to Parliament by Member of Parliament – Rohini Kumari Wijerathna on behalf of the Select Committee Chair – Vadivel Suresh on Sep. 04.

The Report presents that child undernutrition can be presented in four forms such as stunting (low length/height for age), wasting (low weight for length/ height or low BMI for age), underweight (low weight for age) and, micro nutrient deficiencies/ insufficiencies – a lack/ inadequacy of important vitamins and minerals.

The Report further states that babies born with a birth weight of 2500 grams or less are considered to be low birth weight and according to the National Nutrition and Micronutrient Survey conducted in 2022, the prevalence of low birth weight in a nationally representative sample was 15.9%. The June 2023 Nutrition Month report identified an increase in underweight and stunting among infants and children up to two years of age compared to 2022. The most alarmingly high underweight rate of 24.6% was recorded in Nuwara Eliya district, where one in every four children was identified as moderately or severely underweight, the report said.

In June 2023, the proportion of children affected by poverty in Sri Lanka is 10%, according to this report. 1.2% of all children under the age of 5 are affected by severe acute malnutrition and numerically nearly 16,000 children suffer from such acute malnutrition.

The Nutrition Month 2023 report revealed a 10.3% increase in stunting among children under the age of five, an increase of 9.2% from the previous year. The report has revealed that the causes of chronic malnutrition, which are short or short in height compared to children of the same age, occur over time. Meanwhile, according to the survey conducted in 2022, a nationally representative sample of children aged 5-18 years found that shortness, overweight and obesity increase with age.

The report has shown that lack of food security at the household level has also contributed to malnutrition. Due to the economic crisis in the year 2022, 98% of the entire population has been affected by the increase in food prices, and as a result, 74% of the households could not afford to buy food or daily essentials in the last six months of that year, according to the report. The number of food insecure households increased to 24% in the third quarter of 2023 compared to 17% in March 2023. A third of all families have reduced the frequency of cooking or limited their consumption and a quarter live on food from neighbors.

The report provides conclusions and recommendations for improving child nutrition. It emphasized the importance of immediate attention to children before they become chronically malnourished. The report also emphasized the need for adequately skilled field health staff to provide quality Maternal and Child Nutrition (MCN) services for Maternal and Child Health (MCH) programs. The report also emphasized that vitamin A supplementation should be considered again before this becomes a problem again, as vitamin A supplementation has been discontinued for school children. The need for urgent action to improve the food security status of families with children under the age of five has also been highlighted.

The report also recommends using existing health management information systems to identify focal areas of malnutrition in children and to map risk to address malnutrition in order to identify the most vulnerable families and causal factors.

A number of short, medium and long-term recommendations have been presented in this report, including uninterrupted supply of nutritional supplements to pregnant mothers and malnourished children, control of prices of those ingredients to ensure affordable availability of ingredients for a healthy and low-cost diet, the implementation and monitoring of pre-school feeding program, school feeding program and school canteen guidelines to provide quality food.

News

Checked donated blood samples find 1,327 HIV cases

Published

1 hour ago

October 16, 2024

editor

Kurunegala Teaching Hospital’s Consultant STD specialist, Dr. Chithran Hathurusinghe said 1,327 AIDS patients have been reported in the country in 2023 after checking donated blood samples.

Dr. Hathurusinghe said while participating in the North Western Province AIDS Prevention Programme organized on the occasion of the National AIDS Prevention Day.

Dr. Hathurusinghe commenting further said the prevalence of AIDS in the country has increased by 27 percent in 2023.

“It is very unfortunate that young people between the ages of 15 to 29 years are affected by this disease. Since 2003, the spread of HIV AIDS has been gradually increasing. 1,327 such infected persons have been identified from donated blood samples alone.

“We have identified a method to eliminate this disease by 2030. If we detect the disease in the first instance, we are able to refer about 95 percent of these patients for treatment. We can be successful if 95 percent of these patients can reduce the disease virus to zero.

However, we are at the limit of 82 percent in identifying such patients, as of now.

“Not only people infected with AIDS but also victims of social diseases such as syphilis have been discovered during blood donation activities.

“As medical professionals, no matter how hard we try to prevent these diseases, it is of no use unless we get the necessary political support for it. Political support is necessary for such a programme to be successful,”she said.

National STD and AIDS Prevention Programme Director Specialist Dr.Vindya Kumarapeli also spoke on this occasion.

Directors of Kuliapitiya, Chilaw Hospitals, STD Specialists, Probation and Child Protection Department Officers, Medical Officers of Health, Community Medical Specialists, top-ranked Police Officers, Regional Education Directors and other senior officers of the Education Division, including officers of voluntary organizations working on AIDS prevention activities and a large number of people attended this event.

(Daily News)

(This story, originally published by Daily News has not been edited by SLM staff)

News

President attends progress review meeting of Energy Ministry

Published

13 hours ago

October 15, 2024

editor

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake attended the progress review meeting of the Ministry of Energy this morning (Oct. 15).

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake pointed out that, similar to other countries where the energy sector holds a prominent position, Sri Lanka too has given the energy sector a leading role, and he also mentioned that the Ministry of Energy is one that generates revenue, and with higher earnings, there are societal discussions about possible irregularities.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake stated that during this Presidential election, the people had voted with expectations, and he is committed to fulfilling that mandate.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake highlighted that the public has placed their trust in a new political tradition due to dissatisfaction with the old political culture, the economic problems they face, and their dissatisfaction with the performance of the public service.

The President mentioned that the public believes corruption, fraud, and mismanagement are behind the country’s economic collapse, and that the people have given this mandate to prevent these issues. He further stated that he would protect the trust placed in him by the people to stop corruption and fraud across the public sector, and urged public servants to fulfill their responsibilities properly.

The President further stated that public wealth must be protected like religious property, and no one has a legitimate right to subject that wealth to fraud or corruption.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake stated that the commitment of the current public servants is essential to create an efficient and effective public service that satisfies the citizens, and he is ready to take every step necessary to achieve this.

The President emphasized that public servants must act with responsibility and accountability to fulfill the structure, goals, and expectations of this mandate, and stated that his political leadership team is prepared to provide the necessary leadership for this.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake further noted that he stands by every public action taken in the public’s interest within the boundaries of official duty and will not hesitate to take necessary action if improper acts are committed.

A detailed and extensive review was conducted regarding the current projects in the energy sector and those scheduled for implementation over the coming years.

Further discussions were held on how to achieve the goals of the energy sector over the next three years, as well as the short-term and long-term relief that could be provided to the public.

Professor Udayanga Hemapala, Secretary of the Ministry of Energy; Dr. Tilak Siyambalapitiya, Chairman of the Ceylon Electricity Board; Engineer K.G.R.F. Comester, General Manager of the Ceylon Electricity Board; and Janaka Rajakaruna, Chairman of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation and the Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Limited, along with several officials from the Ministry of Energy, participated in this event.

(President’s Media Division)