Child nutrition drops in Sri Lanka amid economic crisis
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(Reuters) – The number of children grappling with various forms of undernutrition in Sri Lanka increased for the first time in at least six years in 2022, a government report and data from the health ministry indicate.
The island nation of 22 million people is struggling with soaring prices, including of food, largely caused by its worst economic crisis since it gained independence in 1948.
More than 43.4% of the country’s children under 5 years of age are suffering from nutrition problems, according to the report released in October, with 42.9% suffering from some form of undernutrition.
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The number of children grappling with various forms of undernutrition in Sri Lanka increased for the first time in at least six years in 2022, a government report and data from the health ministry indicate.
The island nation of 22 million people is struggling with soaring prices, including of food, largely caused by its worst economic crisis since it gained independence in 1948.
More than 43.4% of the country’s children under 5 years of age are suffering from nutrition problems, according to the report released in October, with 42.9% suffering from some form of undernutrition.
Read together with data available on the website of the health ministry’s Family Health Bureau, the numbers indicate that the percentage of children below five who are underweight, stunted, or wasting increased in 2022 after dropping steadily since at least 2016.
