14/11/2023

Caritas Sri Lanka Celebrates World Children’s Day- Nourishing Children’s Right to Thrive

Caritas Sri Lanka – SEDEC together with Caritas Chilaw celebrated International Children’s Day at Church premises, Atungoda on 7th October 2023 with the leadership of the Rev. Fr. Luke Nelson Perera, National Director, Caritas Sri Lanka -SEDEC. The theme for International Children’s Day 2023 is, “Inclusion, for every child”. This theme means that every child belonging to any society, community, or nationality is entitled to equal rights. It also emphasizes the eradication of discrimination among children of various civilizations. This theme urges the public to advocate, celebrate, and promote children’s rights by including every child in a strive for a secure future. The United Nations (UN) provides a particular theme every year for World Children’s Day to promote awareness among children, togetherness and improve children’s welfare. Caritas Sri Lanka focuses on Nourishing Children’s Right to Thrive on this Children’s Day. Poor nutritional outcomes inhibit children’s ability to exercise their right to survive and thrive in Sri Lanka. Today, one in every nine people in the world is hungry, and one in every three is overweight or obese. More and more countries are experiencing the double burden of malnutrition, where undernutrition coexists with overweight, obesity, and other diet-related non-communicable diseases. The lack of progress in tackling malnutrition is deeply unfair. Social injustice, gender inequality, and other exclusions mean that women and children are the worst hit. We have witnessed this during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sri Lanka’s economic crisis and its consequences on the malnutrition of children constitutes a violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which it ratified in 1991 (United Nations, n.d.). Article 6(2) of the CRC states “States Parties shall ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child.” 2.3 million children in Sri Lanka don’t have sufficient food to eat. Families wake up every day to increased food prices, struggling to provide for their children in a country where vital services, like healthcare and education, are being pushed to their limits. Sri Lanka’s children are paying a heavy price in this crisis. Hunger is the norm in Sri Lanka now. In October 2022, the Health Ministry found that 42.9% of under-fives in Sri Lanka have some form of undernutrition. A March 2023 report by the Medical Research Institute says that 19.8% of children between six and 59 months suffer from wasting, the most acute form of malnutrition that occurs when children don’t have enough quality food or have prolonged illnesses. Children become too thin for their height. The ‘double burden’ of malnutrition is, therefore, having an immense negative impact on the nutritional status of people in Sri Lanka. The existence of the ‘double burden’ is clear evidence that the current food system is not delivering the nutrition outcomes that are needed and, therefore, it needs to be reconfigured to a more sustainable and inclusive one that can contribute to improving a child’s first one thousand days. Caritas Sri Lanka is implementing the program “Ensuring Family Nutrition, Stabilized Income, and Sustainable Food Security for Farmer Households in Sri Lanka” from 2023 to 2027 (5 years) by aiming to safeguard food security for 38,400 smallholder farmer households including urban and rural poor and marginalized communities, war widows, women and youth. Empowering 3,250 youth to engage in self-income generating activities, and to raise awareness among 32,500 school children on sustainable agriculture, switching over to sustainable agricultural practices and targeting mothers of 13,000 preschool children to protect the children from malnourishment, and engaging 3,250 differently able people in Anuradhapura, Batticaloa, Kurunegala, Jaffna, Vanni, Trincomalee, Mannar, Kandy, Badulla, Colombo, Chilaw, Galle and Ratnapura dioceses under the leadership of National Director, CSL –SEDEC covering all 25 Administrative Districts by 2028. Caritas Chilaw has introduced Nutritious Food, the importance of providing a Nutritionally Balanced diet to Children, and educated families to promote Organic Home Gardening to increase Safe food production at household levels. This enables them to provide a nutritionally balanced diet to their children on the celebration of World Children’s Day held at Atungoda. The nutrition program was facilitated by Dr. D.D. Priyantha, Ayurvedic Physician from Galgamuwa. 150 Families participated in the Event. 67 Children received educational support. Cariats Chilaw conducted several training programs for Mothers of preschool children to raise awareness on the harmful effects of diets filled with processed food leading to obesity and poor health outcomes; including diabetes, heart disease, and certain kinds of cancer from training conducted by the food security program at Muttuwa, Wennappuwa. As a result, mothers will make an extra effort to feed their children with a nutritionally balanced diet. Building a healthy and nutritious food system is a key priority for Caritas Sri Lanka. School children can learn how to grow a variety of food- vegetables, fruits, and medicinal plants- while fostering entrepreneurial skills in the area of market gardening. In the process, they can be encouraged to consume more organic vegetables and fruits. School gardens teach children about the importance of a balanced diet and nutrition while opening their eyes to new and traditional sustainable agriculture concepts. The gardens are also encouraging the children to increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables; no one can resist eating what they grew with their own hands. Caritas Chilaw is implementing the Food Security program in 10 Selected Schools in the Chilaw Diocese. In the longer term, a life cycle approach to nutrition needs to be implemented to achieve ‘zero’ hunger and reduce malnutrition – focusing on children and young girls. Here there is a critical role that climate-smart and nutrition-sensitive agriculture can play in boosting nutritional levels in the household by encouraging the production and consumption of nutrient-rich foods in Sri Lanka and in the global south.