In a social survey conducted in the Suriyawewa Health Division, it was revealed that 80% of the children suffered from malnutrition, said Dr. G.G. Chamal Sanjeewa, President of the Union of Doctors for Medical and Civil Rights.
Our social survey has revealed that eighty percent of the children in Hambantota district including Suriyawewa have suffered from malnutrition. Therefore, instead of talking about the village from Colombo, the responsible authorities should immediately go to the village and conduct a proper scientific study and take immediate steps to provide proper solutions, otherwise the children’s the future generation will be plunged into a terrible crisis. Former Hambantota Health Services Director Dr. G.G. Mr. Chamal Sanjeeva said
This has been revealed during a social survey conducted yesterday (19th) by a group of representatives of the Union of Doctors on Medical and Civil Rights on the people of the village of Suriyawewa Valsapugala Koswagawa. Here, the group of doctors went to the homes of the residents of the village and investigated the health and nutritional status of the children there. Mr. Chamal Sanjeeva mentioned this. He further said:
During our observation, we were able to uncover many facts about the health and nutritional status of these children. In particular, when we talked to these people, one of the things we found out is that the people have been getting into this situation since the past six months. There parents told us that they have to go to a ‘kuli’ work two or three days a week. So the amount received is over after paying the light bill and water bill.
They say that there is nothing remains after buying some rice, coconut, but cannot buy meat, fish and eggs fill the stomach. Walking in this village, we found only two or three houses, a family that eats an egg at least two or three days a month. Everyone said that it is difficult to eat eggs, meat, and even live a daiy’s life.
We have separately secured the health cards of the children under the age of 05 living in the village. It was found that thirty percent of the children have now reached the state of severe malnutrition, fifty percent have reached the state of mild malnutrition and the remaining twenty percent are approaching the state of malnutrition. Most families have three children.
All three of them are in poor nutrition condition. So, instructions have been given to conduct separate food programs for those children through family health service centers, but people say that these families do not have the background to go for it. So what the authorities should do at this time is not to program the poor people in the village to come somewhere, but the officials should go to the village and take the necessary steps to improve the nutritional status of these people.
We see and hear many officials from Colombo talking about the village. When we went to this village, these people spoke with great pain. Therefore, we invite everyone to come and intervene to prepare some program for these helpless people. We have come to know that in some schools in Suriyawewa, during the morning meeting, a large number of children faint and collapse due to lack of proper nutrition.
The best example of this is that the morning meeting of Suriyawewa Namadagaswewa Maha Vidyalaya has been stopped because the children fainted and fell to the ground. Not only that, we also found out that the teachers of the school run a separate food bank in the school. There, the teachers bring two food parcels each to the school and store them in the food storage area, and space has been prepared for the children who do not have food to get a food parcel. So this situation should be changed immediately.
Maththala Dilip N jayasekara (Divaina)
