Half of Sri Lanka families reducing children food intake: Charity
Colombo, Sri Lanka – 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, fuelled 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 Al Jazeera 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.”