Are We a Nation of Malnourished People?

by iVoice Staff
09-Oct-2015

Today the Daily Mirror reported that the national plan to make Sri Lanka self-sufficient by 2020 may not happen. Apparently, our cattle and buffalo population had decreased by 7.2% in 2013, and in 2014 that fell by a massive 21%. There’s more about it here in the Agriculture and Economic census report 2013/2014 if you can read Sinhala. The English translation isn’t out as yet sadly.

If we are able to achieve self-sufficiency in producing milk it would be terrific! This would mean that milk can be purchased for much less than it is now. If we increase our intake of milk, we will certainly be healthier with all the extra calcium, vitamins and minerals in our system.

Nutrition is important because as it stands, we aren’t exactly the most nourished nation. Malnutrition among children and youth is becoming a growing concern.

 

It starts at birth

According to this report by UNICEF, malnutrition affects one-third of Sri Lanka’s children, and one-quarter of the women. So malnutrition starts early here.

Anemia among children

 

It also reveals shocking stats such as almost 58% of infants between 6 and 11 months and 38% children between 12 – and 23 months being anaemic. Those are significant numbers. It means that quite a large part of our population will not develop properly – their bones, nerves, brain and other organs. They will not be able to reach their full potential in growth and development – not because of a fault of their, but because they just didn’t receive enough or the right nutrition when they were born.

The report goes on to say that 14% of children suffer from extreme malnutrition, and they weigh far less than they should. Children who are malnourished but not to an extreme stand at 29%.

 

Adolescents at risk

As we grow older, our hindered development and growth will continue to affect us. The government has some excellent policies in place to combat this but they seem to have hit a few snags in the implementation process. The National Strategic Plan: Adolescent Health for 2013 to 2017 report, states that the school curriculum includes nutrition information for adolescents, but they haven’t been able to execute them successfully.

The report also reveals that for children between the ages of 10 to 15 in 2002, overall prevalence of thinness was 47.2%, stunting at 28.5% and overweight at 2.2%. It’s clear that the effects of malnutrition is long term and will continue to affect us throughout our lives.

Children 10 to 15

It’s interesting to see that obesity is at a low of 2.2%, but the report also says obesity can become a problem in Sri Lanka as adolescents resort to eating unhealthy quantities of junk food given their lifestyles.

 

How childhood malnutrition affects adults

Ultimately, as adults who did not receive adequate nutrition will not be able reach their full potential and may develop non-communicable diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and even cancer.

Looking at how this will affect the development of the country, the Youth and Development document published last year by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Skills Development, is a good source of information. It states, ‘one of the main consequences of malnourished adults is reduced work capacity, and absenteeism owing to illness or exhaustion, which in turn has an impact on economic productivity’.

The report also talks about why an adequate level of nutrition is particularly important for women if we are to ensure we have a strong and health future generation. Malnourished mothers give birth to malnourished children.

What we can gather from all this information, is that while Sri Lanka has some impressive policies in place to ensure we are a healthy nation – from school food programmes, a plan to be self-sufficient in producing milk and free health care – there are lapses that are obstructing intended positive outcomes. Perhaps strengthening these policies and carrying out awareness programmes will help. Hopefully, the hard work that the government is doing will pay off soon.

Featured Image source: http://www.one.org/international/blog/6-steps-to-reduce-malnutrition/ Photo by Morgana Wingward

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2017

1 votes
வாலிபர்களின் சீரழிவு
The problem
வேலையில்லாப் பட்டதாரிகளுக்கு சீரான ஒரு எதிர்காலத்தைப் பெற்றுக் கொடுத்தல். அவர்களை சமூக சேவைகளில் பங்கு பெறச் செய்ய வைத்தல். யுறயசநௌள அழவiஎயவழைn pசழபசயஅஅநள மூலம் அவர்களை தெளிவுபடுத்தல்
The solution
வேலையில்லாப் பட்டதாரிகளுக்கு சீரான ஒரு எதிர்காலத்தைப் பெற்றுக் கொடுத்தல். அவர்களை சமூக சேவைகளில் பங்கு பெறச் செய்ய வைத்தல். யுறயசநௌள அழவiஎயவழைn pசழபசயஅஅநள மூலம் அவர்களை தெளிவுபடுத்தல்
Budget

125000

by Muhammad Faslan Horombawa
0 votes
சுத்தமான நீரைப் பெறுவதில் தட்டுப்பாடு
The problem
2 சுத்தமான நீர் கிடைக்காத இடங்களுக்கு சுத்திகரிக்கப்பட்ட குழாய் நீர் வசதிகள் அல்லது கடைவநச விநியோகம் செய்தல். 3 நீர் இருக்கும் இடங்களை சுத்தமாகப் பேணுவதற்கான அறிவுரைகளை வழங்குதல்.
The solution
2 சுத்தமான நீர் கிடைக்காத இடங்களுக்கு சுத்திகரிக்கப்பட்ட குழாய் நீர் வசதிகள் அல்லது கடைவநச விநியோகம் செய்தல். 3 நீர் இருக்கும் இடங்களை சுத்தமாகப் பேணுவதற்கான அறிவுரைகளை வழங்குதல்.
Budget

100000

by Mohamed Faslan
0 votes
மக்களின் அடிப்படைப் பிரட்சினையாகத்திகழ்து வரும் குடிநீர்...
The problem
பிரதேச மக்களின் நலன் கருதி நலலின் நீர்க்குழாய் ஒன்றை பொருத்தமுடியுமானால் பிரதேச மக்களில் பெரும்பாலானோர் பயனடைவர் என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.
The solution
பிரதேச மக்களின் நலன் கருதி நலலின் நீர்க்குழாய் ஒன்றை பொருத்தமுடியுமானால் பிரதேச மக்களில் பெரும்பாலானோர் பயனடைவர் என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.
Budget

100000

by Mohamed Faslan
0 votes
வீட்டுகளில் இருக்கவேண்டிய நாய்கள் வீதிக்குவந்தால் என்ன நடக்கும்?
The problem
வீட்டில் வளர்க்கப்படும் நாய்களுக்கு கழுத்தில் ஒரு பெல்டை மாட்டுவதுடன் வீட்டின் எல்லைக்குல் மாத்திரம் நாய்களை வளர்க்குமாறு மக்களுக்கு விளிப்புணர்வூட்டும் செயலமர்வுகளை நடாத்தல். மேலும் பசு வைத்தியரின் ஆலோசணைக்கு அமைய நாய்கள் இனப்பெருக்கம் செய்ய முடியாத ஒரு நிலையை உண்டு பண்னுதல்.இதனால் நாய்களின் இனப்பெருக்கம் குறைவடைந்து நாய்களின் தொல்லைகளிலிருந்து மோட்டார் வண்டிச் சாரதிகள் பாதுகாக்கப்பட்டும் வாய்ப்புகளும் உண்டு.
The solution
வீட்டில் வளர்க்கப்படும் நாய்களுக்கு கழுத்தில் ஒரு பெல்டை மாட்டுவதுடன் வீட்டின் எல்லைக்குல் மாத்திரம் நாய்களை வளர்க்குமாறு மக்களுக்கு விளிப்புணர்வூட்டும் செயலமர்வுகளை நடாத்தல். மேலும் பசு வைத்தியரின் ஆலோசணைக்கு அமைய நாய்கள் இனப்பெருக்கம் செய்ய முடியாத ஒரு நிலையை உண்டு பண்னுதல்.இதனால் நாய்களின் இனப்பெருக்கம் குறைவடைந்து நாய்களின் தொல்லைகளிலிருந்து மோட்டார் வண்டிச் சாரதிகள் பாதுகாக்கப்பட்டும் வாய்ப்புகளும் உண்டு.
Budget

100000

by Mohamed TripleSafety
0 votes
අන්තර්ජාලය නිසා අහිමි වන අඹු සැමි දරු සබැඳියාව​.
The problem
මෙම වෙබ් ජාල මගින් පවුල් සන්ස්ථාව දෙදරා යාමට පසුබිම් වන්නේ කෙසෙද යන්න මෙසේ උදහරණයකින් දැක් විය හැක​, උදා:- මෙම ජාලා හරහා තම හිත මිතුරන් සමඟ වීඩියෝ ඇමතුම් මෙන්ම චැට් කරන්නද පුලුවනී. උදේ රැකියවට යන සැමියා ආ පසු ගෙදර එන්නේ හවසටය​. මෙතෙක් තනිව සිටින නූතන බිරිඳ තම පාලුව තනිකම මග හරව ගනු ලබන්නේ මෙම ජාලා මඟිනි.මෙතුලින් අලුත් මිතුරු මිතුරියන්ද සොයා ගත හැකිය​.අන්‍යෝන්‍ය බැදීම් ඇති වීම සාමන්‍ය කරනයක් බවට පත් වේ.මවට තම දරුවන් පිළි බඳ සෙවීමටඳ කාලය නොමැති වේ.මෙයින් දරුව සහ මව අතර බැදීම් දුරස් වනව මෙන්ම දරුවන් තම හිතු මතෙ වද කිරීමතද පෙලබේ. මෙය එක් උදහරනයක් පමණී. මෙම තත්ත්වය මඟ හරවා ගෙනීමට මා හට අප ප්‍රෙදේසයේ මා හට කළ හැකි දේ; (1) සමජ ජාලා අයුතු ලෙස පරිහරනයෙන් වන හානි අඩන්ගු අත් පත්‍රිකා ගසා පාසල් හා පන්සල්, පල්ලී,කෝවිල් වැනී පොදු ස්ථාන මුල් කර ගනිමින් බෙදා දීම​. (2) සමජ ජාලා අයුතු ලෙස පරිහරනයෙන් වන හානි පිළිබඳව ගම් මට්ටමින් මනෝවිද්‍යාත්මක දේශනාවන් පෙවත් වීම​.(මෙය සඳහා ප්‍රෙදේසයේ පවුල් සෞක්‍ය නිලධාරියා, ග්‍රාම සේවක මහතා සහා මනෝවිද්‍යා වෛද්‍යවරයෙක් සන්බන්ඳ කර ගනු ලෙබේ)
The solution
මෙම වෙබ් ජාල මගින් පවුල් සන්ස්ථාව දෙදරා යාමට පසුබිම් වන්නේ කෙසෙද යන්න මෙසේ උදහරණයකින් දැක් විය හැක​, උදා:- මෙම ජාලා හරහා තම හිත මිතුරන් සමඟ වීඩියෝ ඇමතුම් මෙන්ම චැට් කරන්නද පුලුවනී. උදේ රැකියවට යන සැමියා ආ පසු ගෙදර එන්නේ හවසටය​. මෙතෙක් තනිව සිටින නූතන බිරිඳ තම පාලුව තනිකම මග හරව ගනු ලබන්නේ මෙම ජාලා මඟිනි.මෙතුලින් අලුත් මිතුරු මිතුරියන්ද සොයා ගත හැකිය​.අන්‍යෝන්‍ය බැදීම් ඇති වීම සාමන්‍ය කරනයක් බවට පත් වේ.මවට තම දරුවන් පිළි බඳ සෙවීමටඳ කාලය නොමැති වේ.මෙයින් දරුව සහ මව අතර බැදීම් දුරස් වනව මෙන්ම දරුවන් තම හිතු මතෙ වද කිරීමතද පෙලබේ. මෙය එක් උදහරනයක් පමණී. මෙම තත්ත්වය මඟ හරවා ගෙනීමට මා හට අප ප්‍රෙදේසයේ මා හට කළ හැකි දේ; (1) සමජ ජාලා අයුතු ලෙස පරිහරනයෙන් වන හානි අඩන්ගු අත් පත්‍රිකා ගසා පාසල් හා පන්සල්, පල්ලී,කෝවිල් වැනී පොදු ස්ථාන මුල් කර ගනිමින් බෙදා දීම​. (2) සමජ ජාලා අයුතු ලෙස පරිහරනයෙන් වන හානි පිළිබඳව ගම් මට්ටමින් මනෝවිද්‍යාත්මක දේශනාවන් පෙවත් වීම​.(මෙය සඳහා ප්‍රෙදේසයේ පවුල් සෞක්‍ය නිලධාරියා, ග්‍රාම සේවක මහතා සහා මනෝවිද්‍යා වෛද්‍යවරයෙක් සන්බන්ඳ කර ගනු ලෙබේ)
Budget

100000

by Mohamed Faslan