Projects to improve nutritional status of children

Most children in Sri Lanka as well as in other developing countries are under-nourished or malnourished. Some of them even face severe malnutrition, which could hamper their mental and physical development. The food and nutrition children receive during their formative years are the most important for their future well-being.

It is with the intention of improving the nutritional status of children below five, that May was recently declared as the 'National Nutrition Month' by Healthcare and Nutrition Minister, Nimal Siripala de Silva.

The programme has been launched to counter the adverse effects which may be created in the minds of the public by the marketing of various artificial and unhealthy food. The importance of properly educating mothers and children on nutrition was stressed by the Minister at the launch of the 'National Nutrition Month'. Over 16.7 per cent of newborn children are under-weight, he said, emphasising this point.

Family health workers numbering 2,200 have been trained and will soon be appointed to every health division in every district, including the North and East to carry out this project. They will disseminate the message about proper nutrition to the public, and will try to effect a behavioural change among them.

When there are plenty of fruits, vegetables and green leaves, which are highly nutritious, why consume unhealthy fast foods that are advertised over television, Minister de Silva said.

After 10 months, a survey will be conducted to assess the impact of the programme on the health of babies.

According to the Minister, a programme of presenting a nutritional food package to every mother had been initiated in some areas of the country, and this will be extended island-wide soon.

Meanwhile, the programme of providing free nutritious meals to Year One and Two students in selected schools in the island(with less facilities) will be further extended to cover all students in selected schools in the Hambantota district.

This decision was taken following a progress review meeting of the project, which was presided by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The project is currently being implemented in respect of Year One and Two students of low income families in 7,384 selected schools, country-wide.

The President also emphasised the need to extend this project to cover all difficult schools in the country in the near future. President Rajapaksa said special attention should also be drawn towards students of Government schools in difficult divisional secretariat divisions named in the 2005 Central Bank report, and a programme should be implemented to upgrade their health conditions as well.

A decision was also taken at this meeting to streamline the free nutritious meals project implemented by the Nation Building and Development Ministry under the aid of the Food and Agricultural Organisation with the Education Ministry's support.

Surveys are now being done by PHIs to ensure that quality nutritious meals are distributed among students. It was decided that Zonal Education Officers should be called upon to co-ordinate and supervise this work.

Drylands, focus on Biodiversity Day

The International Day for Biological Diversity, as proclaimed by the United Nations, will be celebrated tomorrow, May 22.

Biodiversity is the source of essential goods and ecological services that constitute the source of life for all. The Day has been declared to increase understanding and awareness about biodiversity issues.

The world is changing fast and the growth in human populations and the developments in the industrial sector have put excessive pressures on biodiversity. The Day is a reminder about the role biodiversity plays in life, and the importance of protecting it. It is an occasion to reflect on our responsibilities to safeguard this diversity for future generations.

The focus this year will be on protecting the biodiversity in drylands. Drylands constitute 47 per cent of the land surface of the Earth. They include semi-arid lands, savannahs and some of the Mediterranean landscapes. These areas are rich in biodiversity and are home to over two billion people.

Drylands are prone to irregular rain patterns, and are therefore vulnerable to degradation (worsening of conditions). Human activities such as over-exploitation arising from cultivation, and overgrazing by livestock have contributed to this situation.

Twenty per cent of drylands have thus been degraded, leading to desertification and drought. This has resulted in over 2,311 species being endangered, and over 40 billion dollars being lost in agricultural production, leading to many social, political and economic problems.

This year has also been declared as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. The theme will highlight protecting drylands and the sustainable use of their resources for the benefit of all. One of the goals of the Year is to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by the year 2010.

When the International Day for Biological Diversity was first created by the Second Committee of the UN General Assembly in 1993, December 29 (the date the Convention of Biological Diversity came into force) was designated as the Biodiversity Day.

May 22 was adopted only in December 2000, to commemorate the adoption of the text of the Convention on May 22, 1992 by Nairobi Final Act of the Conference for the Adoption of the Agreed Text of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

One of the reasons for this change of date was the difficulty faced by many countries to plan the necessary activities in a month which has many holidays.

Stamps to commemorate popular star

Greta Garbo was one of the greatest and most popular Hollywood filmstars. She was born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson in Stockholm, Sweden on September 18, 1905. Her birth centenary, which fell last year, was an occasion for a joint issue of stamps from her native Sweden as well as the United States of America. Sweden issued a souvenir sheet consisting of four stamps, while America issued a single stamp of 37 cents denomination (shown here).

Having won a scholarship to the prestigious Royal Dramatic Theatre Academy in 1922, Greta Garbo began appearing in several short films under a number of directors.

It was in 1924 that she came out as a respected star in a film directed by Maritz Stiller, who also gave her the stage name of Garbo.

Her first sound debut was in the film 'Anne Christe' in 1930. She participated in a total of 16 talkies from 1930 to 1941.

She was one of the brightest film stars in Hollywood. It has been said that the camera transformed Garbo into an ethereal (heavenly) creature of mysterious and compelling beauty.

Garbo preferred acting in historical and literary roles. She passed away on April 15, 1990, leaving behind a brilliant name among Hollywood stars of the 20th century.

Francis P. Gunasekera

Tsunami warning system by July

We all know how badly Sri Lanka was affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 26, 2004. Ever since, people have been talking about the need for a tsunami warning system for the region.

Now, there are indications that such a system, warning against sea surges, will be ready by July.

According to UNESCO Director General, Koichiro Matsura, Sri Lanka would be able to face tsunami situations in the future, with the installation of the warning system in the Asian region.

However, he said, there was still a long way to go before the early warning system would cover every community in the vast area that was destroyed by the tsunami.

"At the moment, 17 sensors are in operation in the Indian Ocean, and by July, it will increase to 23. If anything happens tonight, somebody will be there to move an alert," he told the Lankapuvath news agency.

He praised the efforts taken by Sri Lanka in the way of setting up siren systems and training schoolchildren, but said, all efforts needed to be directed from the highest political office in every country, to avoid confusion when such a disaster strikes.

Over 2.5 billion people have been affected by weather disasters in the past decade. This is more than double the number of those affected in the previous decade.

However, the death toll in disasters such as floods and droughts have dropped due to the prompt reaction of governments and the international community, to advance warnings.