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03-03-2023
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s economic meltdown has spiralled into a full-blown hunger crisis, with half of the families in the island nation forced to reduce the amount they feed their children, according to a child rights charity.
The Sri Lankan government and the international community must act now to prevent the country’s children from “becoming a lost generation”, Save the Children warned in a report published on Thursday.
Since late 2021, the South Asian island nation is in the grip of its worst ever economic crisis, fueled by a lack of foreign reserves and mounting foreign government debt.
The country of 22 million people has sought help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after defaulting on its $46bn debt last April.
“Since the Sri Lankan government defaulted on its debt nearly a year ago, soaring inflation and food, medicine, and fuel shortages as well as a lack of stable employment have left families unable to cope,” the report said.
While half of Sri Lankan households are cutting their children’s food intake, according to the charity, 27 percent of more than 2,300 households it surveyed reported adults skipping meals to feed their children.
Nine out of 10 households said they cannot guarantee nutritious food for their children, it said.
The Save the Children report came a day after thousands of workers went on a strike in defiance of a government directive declaring several services as essential to stop protests over the IMF bailout plan.
‘Heartbreaking stories’
Shashikala Madhuvanthi Silva, a 40-year-old mother of four in Kalutara district, 80km (50 miles) from the commercial capital of Colombo, told media none of her children is getting a proper meal since the crisis began.
“My husband is a tuk-tuk driver but he isn’t getting much income now as more and more people are choosing public transport due to increased cost of living,” she said.
As a result, she is forced to feed her children less nutritious food. “Not that I don’t feed them but I can’t any longer afford egg, meat or fish every day.”
Silva recently started working at a nearby garment factory her first ever job. “I get 900 rupees ($2.50) for a nine-hour shift,” she said. “What can you do with 900 rupees a day, but I have no choice.”
Renuka (not her real name) is a teacher in the Western Province. Speaking to media on condition of anonymity, she described the situation at her school. In Sri Lanka, government workers including teachers can often be sacked for speaking to the media.
“It was a Monday. When I was about to have my lunch, I spotted a child looking at me in a sad way. He was almost in tears. When I asked what the matter was, he told me that he, his mother and his younger sister have only had several cups of tea during the weekend,” she said.
The teacher said from that day onwards, she started bringing an extra lunch box for the boy.
“One day, he asked me whether he could take his lunch home. Instead of having his meal at school, the boy wanted to take it to his mother and sister.”
“This is about just one family,” said the teacher. “There are many more heartbreaking stories.”
Muditha Dharmapriya, a nutritionist in Colombo, told media he agreed with the findings of the Save the Children survey. (Int’l News Desk)
