Council to focus on nutrition

Nadira Gunatilleke

The Health Ministry will set up the National Nutrition Council on January 14, a Health Ministry spokesman said.

According to the spokesman the Council to be set up by President Mahinda Rajapaksa on a proposal made by Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena. Many other line ministries and institutions such as the Education Ministry, Agricultural Ministry, Trade Ministry, Environment Ministry and Social Services Ministry will be a part of this Council.

The proposed National Council will focus on children’s and mothers’ nutrition. It will implement the National Nutrition Program countrywide in a more effective manner. The UNICEF is one of the international organizations that plays a major role in upgrading nutrition among Sri Lankan mothers and children, he said.

During the past, governments implemented various programs time to time to eradicate malnutrition among Sri Lankan mothers and children. But none of them were combined efforts by all relevant ministries and institutions. Therefore those programs did not bring good results, he added.