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| Saturday, 18 October 2003 |
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Malnutrition in schoolchildren reaches alarming levels: WFP study COLOMBO - Schoolchildren in conflict-affected areas of Sri Lanka suffer from alarming levels of malnutrition, with one in four being "stunted" or too short for their age, according to a study released today by the United Nations World Food Programme. The results of this first nutritional survey undertaken in Sri Lanka's former war zones enables WFP to tailor an appropriate food aid response to the problem of malnutrition in the country, states a World Food Programme press release. The WFP survey found that nearly one in three children is "wasted" or far too thin for their height, in the north and east of the island nation where a civil war was fought for nearly 20 years. In these areas, malnutrition levels are at least twice as high as the national average. "The data shows that malnutrition levels are much higher than even we expected," said Jeff Taft-Dick, WFP Country Director for Sri Lanka. "Clearly, action is needed now to address these problems and prevent long-term, debilitating disorders." The WFP survey also indicates that girls receive only 69 percent, and boys 71 percent, of the energy requirement of 1,750 and 1,850 kilocalories (respectively) a day recommended by the Sri Lanka health ministry. The children consume only 16 percent of the Vitamin A requirement under the ministry's "Recommended Dietary Allowances"; among other micronutrients, calcium intake is 60 percent, niacin 79 percent and Vitamin C 89 percent of the recommended allowance. Under the WFP's meals-in-school programme, 27,000 primary school children in five of the worst-off areas are eating a nutritious mid-morning meal of rice and lentil porridge or micronutrient-fortified corn-soya cakes, both supplemented with vegetables. WFP plans to expand the programme to 150,000 children in nearly 1,000 schools next year. school feeding programmes have proven to boost enrolment and attendance rates and enhance children's ability to learn. "The war robbed children of education," Taft-Dick said. "But a school feeding programme can help restore the lost years; a meal during every school day is a small but vital investment in the future of a child and that child's country." |
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