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| Sunday, 20 October 2002 |
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Basic amenities for refugees soon by Don Asoka Wijewardena Approximately fifty per cent of the children of internally displaced families suffer from malnutrition and, in several districts, especially in the Vanni, pregnant women lacked facilities and some delivered children under pathetic conditions. The Ministry of Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Refugees with the assistance of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, about 200,000 internally displaced persons have already been resettled in their original places and the Ministry is now planning to provide them the basic amenities, Minister Prof. Jayalath Jayawardena told the 'Sunday Observer'. Prof. Jayawardena said that voluntary and sustainable resettlement programs initiated by his ministry with the support of the UNHCR was a big success but there was still much to be done regarding the basic health and educational facilities for those in the resettled areas. He said that a series of talks were held with Batticoloa district UNP organiser and advisor to the Ministry of Policy Planning, Ali Shaeer Moulana, in connection with the most urgent needs of the refugees in the North and East. In his recent tour of the North and East, Minister Jayawardena also held discussions with Government Agents and health authorities of the respective districts and urged them to prepare a list of children suffering from malnutrition and make arrangements to provide maternal facilities for pregnant women. The Minister would also seek the assistance of the Ministry of Education to rebuild the devastated schools in the war-affected areas for the benefit of the schoolgoing children of the displaced families. |
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