- Health Ministry highlights role of multi-entity partnerships in emergency nutritional plan implementation
Nutrition is being discussed widely not only in Sri Lanka but at a global level as well. The World Food Programme (WFP) calls 2022 a year of unprecedented hunger, saying that conflict, Covid-19, the climate crisis, and rising costs have combined, leading to 828 million hungry people across the world.
The WFP says it requires $ 22.2 billion to reach 152 million people in 2022. At this critical crossroads, they call on everyone to work together against the injustice of global hunger. Sri Lanka’s Health Ministry made a similar appeal recently, calling for multi-entity partnerships, for the implementation and funding of an emergency nutrition plan that is in the works.
During a press briefing held by the Health Promotion Bureau on Wednesday (3), Health Ministry Deputy Director General (Public Health Services) Dr. Susie Perera explained that multi-entity partnerships existed before 2019, but various decisions made by officials had put an end to these. However, she stressed the need to re-establish such partnerships, adding that the nutrition strategy will be made available to more parties gradually, as they get involved in implementation.
According to Dr. Perera, food security alone does not ensure that nutrition in a family is protected, or guaranteed, as there are many other contributing factors. She added that during current times, when the country is facing an economic crisis, priority should be given to entities like the Health Ministry, Health Promotion Bureau, divisions on nutrition and maternal and child health, and rural and urban units. She emphasised the responsibility held by such State actors to establish a proper plan for nutrition.
However, this is a challenge, given a severe lack of resources faced by the Health Ministry, which calls for a need for implementation and funding partnerships as well as community collaborations.
Dr. Perera said: “80% of families are making adjustments to some degree to their food intake that threatens nutrition. It is at this juncture that we are presenting the emergency nutrition plan.” She added that the regular nutrition plan presented by the Health Ministry is already hard to implement, which is why an emergency nutrition plan is needed.
The Health Ministry’s Nutrition Division shared a poster on five steps to healthy eating in December 2021, to mark National Nutrition Month. The five steps are (1) Adding colour to daily meals, balancing the correct amounts; (2) Eating whole grains and their products; (3) Eating at least two vegetables, one green leafy vegetable, and two fruits daily; (4) Eating fish, egg, or lean meat with pulses at every meal; (5) Limiting sugary drinks, biscuits, cakes, and sweets.
While these practices are encouraged for a healthy and balanced diet, the food pyramid most Sri Lankans can adhere to, or recreate on their plate today, is limited to whatever they can afford, given the price of fish, eggs, pulses, and vegetables. As Dr. Perera said, most people are unable to have even one proper meal a day.
The emergency nutrition plan, which is being presented as an advocacy document, thus seeks to create nutrition security through food security, strengthening the Health Ministry’s nutrition-focused programmes and expanding community communication programmes.
In response to a question posed on the rising price of biscuits as well as other food items, Dr. Perera added that the emergency nutrition plan also covers cash management.
Going into detail about the plan, Dr. Perera explained that it targets vulnerable districts as well as vulnerable groups, like pregnant persons, schoolchildren, especially those from rural areas, schools with less than 100 students, estate or plantation communities, and municipal council communities in urban areas.
Addressing the push that home gardening has received in recent times, especially from the Government, Dr. Perera said: “Our emergency nutrition plan states that even these home gardens must be connected to reducing nutritional deficiency.”
She spoke about a micronutrition gap in Sri Lanka, saying this cannot be identified by measuring metrics like height and weight. “It is seen in lethargy, weakness, lack of concentration, aches and pains, and these are there in children in the community as well. It can increase with micronutrient deficiency, especially in terms of vitamins A, B, D, and E, calcium, iron, and zinc, which we only need in small amounts, but which are also lost when meals are limited.”
Global issue
There is no doubt that the situation in Sri Lanka is grim, however, we are not alone in our hunger. According to WFP, a total of 50 million people in 45 countries are teetering on the edge of famine. This hunger crisis has been caused by a deadly combination of four factors, the WFP stated.
Conflict is still the biggest driver of hunger, according to the WFP, with 60% of the world’s hungry living in areas afflicted by war and violence. “Events unfolding in Ukraine are further proof of how conflict feeds hunger, forcing people out of their homes, and wiping out their sources of income.”
Climate shocks contribute to the crisis, as they destroy lives, crops, and livelihoods, and undermine people’s ability to feed themselves.
The economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic are driving hunger to unprecedented levels, the WFP stated, adding: “Costs are also at an all-time high; WFP’s monthly operating costs are $ 73.6 million above their 2019 average – a staggering 44% rise. The extra now spent on operating costs would have previously fed four million people for one month.”
Thus, while the world battles hunger and Sri Lanka’s Health Ministry implements an emergency nutrition plan, we too, must, at an individual level, work towards alleviating hunger. This could be done in several ways; for instance, through community kitchens and gardens and food donation programmes.
