Nutrition paradox

Sri Lanka this week hosted an international conference on maternal and children nutrition but faces significant challenges in reducing the number of underweight children in Sri Lanka. 

While 159 million children globally suffer from stunted growth, 40% of these children live in South Asia. Infants, young children and women of reproductive age represent the most nutritionally-vulnerable stages of the life cycle.

Every child has the right to proper nutrition, and proper and adequate nutrition for every child and every woman is imperative to ensure their health, their education and wellbeing, and the wellbeing of future generations. It also plays a significant role for the nation and contributes to reducing poverty, promoting social and economic development and reducing inequities. 

The paradox of under-nutrition in Sri Lanka is that the country performs well in nutrition in comparison to rest of South Asia but shows large regional disparities in under-nutrition and income.

In Sri Lanka, national policies and programs, a skilled public health work force, collaborative communities and multi-sectoral approaches are evidence of how nutrition initiatives are being scaled up to benefit women and children in the country. But there are still startling gaps to full. 

Good nutrition and health and consistent loving care and encouragement to learn in the early years of life help children to do better at school, be healthier, have higher earnings and participate more in society. This is especially important for children in poverty. A good foundation in the early years makes a difference through adulthood and even gives the next generation a better start. Educated and healthy people participate in, and contribute to, the financial and social wealth of their societies.

Early years of childhood form the basis of intelligence, personality, social behaviour, and capacity to learn and nurture oneself as an adult. There is significant evidence that links the circumstances of adversity and habits formed in early years to the non-communicable diseases of adulthood.

For a country that suffers no significant food shortages and provides extensive, free maternal and child health services, it is rather paradoxical that malnutrition affects nearly one-third of children and one quarter of women, according to UNICEF Sri Lanka. 

Almost one out of five children are born with low birth weight – around 29% of under-fives are reported to be underweight, rising as high as 37.4%, in some deprived districts. As much as 14% of under-fives suffer from acute malnutrition (wasting) when their weight is compared to the weight of a normal child of the same height.

Nearly 58% of infants between six and 11 months and 38% children between 12 and 23 months are anaemic, says UNICEF pointing at low levels of knowledge when it comes to nutrition, poor sanitation and ineffective distribution of subsidies. 

While the image of the emaciated child is not one associated with Sri Lanka, the impacts of malnutrition are visible in other ways. Approximately 14% of children suffer from wasting – recording a lower weight than would be expected for their height and 29% of children are under weight, registering a lower weight than would be expected for their age. Thus it is evident that the fight to give every child born in Sri Lanka a chance to reach their full potential remains in full force.