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DateLine Sunday, 20 April 2008

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Peace through food aid

Food for thought:


Health is wealth - That’s what our ancestors strongly believed in. Disbelieving in this golden rule may be the foremost reason for weakening ourselves - the path towards an ailing nation.

It would be quite impossible to figure out the total expense that would be needed to recover a nation from such a debacle. But we have well heard the golden rule that follows the first one mentioned above - Prevention is better than cure! So, there is a solution.

Above all we earn to provide us with food, shelter us with a house, cover ourselves with clothes etc. We are concerned about our very basic needs as human beings.

Talking about health, nutrition or more correctly proper nutrition plays a major role in taking care of the health of a nation. We, Sri Lankans have many obstacles in ‘taking care of our health’.

Specifically the problem of nourishing the needy. The prolonged terrorists’ threat to the Northern and the Eastern parts of the country contributes a great deal in making this an obstacle for the Government.

Yet it is a relief, may be not to us but to the people who are really hit by this problem, to know that the Government have fully identified the issue and contributing its fullest efforts to insecure the ‘food insecurity’ of the country.

The Government through the Ministry of Nation Building and Estate Infrastructure Development has been doing the utmost to improve food security of vulnerable people in conflict affected areas and develop social cohesion and reconciliation. They strongly believe food aid intervention positively contributes peace and harmony among the communit, to a greater extend.

Ministry of Nation Building and Estate Infrastructure Development in collaboration with the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has been implementing food assistance programs since 2002.

PRRO

Government of Sri Lanka and WFP have signed the first Agreement of Protracted Relief Recovery Operation (PRRO - 10067) in 2002 and the second in 2005. This Ministry has implemented programs worth of 9,419.73 million rupees benefiting more than one million war and/or tsunami affected people annually. In 2008, programs worth of 2,250 million rupees will be continuously implemented, ministry sources said.

They aim at building peace through food aid intervention by:

* Improving food security and access to food by rehabilitating community and individual assets.

* Improving the nutritional status of pregnant and lactating mothers, children under five years of age and other vulnerable groups

* Reducing short term hunger and improve the diet of schoolchildren and increase attendance and retention in schools

* Improving access to counselling services and skills training for people most affected by the war/tsunami.

The largest operation in Sri Lanka started aftermath the fateful 26th December 2004 tsunami. This was under the Emergency Operation Project that was signed between the Government of Sri Lanka and the WFP in 2005.

Under the Protracted Relief Recovery Operation project:

* Food for Education - the school feeding program

* Mother and Child nutrition program

* Food for Asset Creation - Food for Work and Food for Training

* Assistance to IDPs - living in welfare camps and displaced due to recent incidents

* Vulnerable Group Feeding sections are included.

According to the Ministry data this project spreads through Mannar, Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu, Puttalam, Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura, Batticaloa, Ampara, Trincomalee, Moneragala, Galle, Matara and Hambantota at the moment.

Mum and baby

The Mother and the Child Nutrition program has been started with the intention of promoting the nutritional status of most vulnerable groups - pregnant and lactating mothers and children between six to 60 months.

The program runs based on the information from the Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition and the World Health Organization.

The program was commenced on March 09 2003 at Kilinochchi district and later expanded to Mullaitivu, Polonnaruwa, Vavuniya, Mannar and Jaffna districts. In the recent past it has spread into Batticaloa and Ampara districts since the tsunami on the Boxing Day.

Beneficiaries are selected from the areas based on the food insecurity levels as indicated in the ‘vulnerable assessment maps’ and from the areas where the malnutrition prevalence is high.

Beneficiaries are provided with Corn Soya blend - 100 grams of corn soya blend consists of 14 grams of protein and 7 grams of fat. In addition it is fortified with vitamins A, C, D and B complex and vital minerals like iron, folate and iodine giving 380 calories per 100 grams.

Medical Officers of Health (MOH) at each respective level are the key officials monitoring the program. Keeping a monthly weight improvement record of each beneficiary is an indicator of the progress.

There are 2,509 health volunteers in these project districts, the ministry said. These volunteers are involved in demonstration and distribution of the corn and soya blend among the beneficiaries at MOH and clinic levels. Under the project these volunteers are also provided with a food parcel for their service.

School child

Studies have revealed that many children have low attention span because they come to school on empty stomach.

Since 2003 the WFP, in partnership with the Government of Sri Lanka has been carrying out the Food for Education Program providing a nutritious cooked mid-morning meal to all primary and lower secondary schoolchildren in targeted education divisions in most vulnerable food insecure areas.

Initially, Food For Education or FFE in short form, started in four districts in 120 schools for 23,487 students in 2003. Then in 2004 it was implemented in 689 schools for 143,338 students. Then in the next year (2005), it was implemented in 743 schools for 155,448 students. Then in 2006 it covered 1429 schools and 358,863 students in fifteen districts.This project provides meals to schoolchildren in grade one upto grade nine in conflict affected areas - North, East, North Central, North Western, Uva and tsunami affected areas.

The project targets to increase children’s capacity to learn and expand their attention span by increasing the daily dietary intake and increase the average school attendance of targeted children.

To improve children’s health and nutritional status, a comprehensive de-worming programme, anaemia examinations, school health visits and nutritional education complement with the feeding program.

Food for work

One of the important components of the PRRO is the Food for Asset Creation Programs. This is Food for Work and Food for Training.

Food for work component aims at improving access to food for conflict affected people through the rehabilitation of community and individual assets in the areas where internally displaced returnees are living and vulnerable host communities.

The Food for Work will continue to focus on irrigation systems and basic community infrastructure rehabilitation, rural roads repair and construction and human resource development/training activities with the active collaboration of the Government institutions and Non-Governmental organizations.

This project provides a safety net while creating a rehabilitation physical asset that will help strengthen household food security in the medium to long-term and facilitate reuniting the families in the community.

This supports the returnee population either at their original places or relocated lands through possible community asset creation.

In the Food For Training program, food will be provided to women headed households, unemployed youth, ex-combatants and other vulnerable groups to participate in income generating and vocational skills training in partnership with the Government, NGOs. Trainees will receive a family ration as a replacement for any income lost during the time invested in training averaging three months.

Vulnerable families

Elderly, disabled people with no support, displaced due to tsunami and poor families are targeted under this project. Under this program 50kg of wheat flour dry ration is provided per family. For the people internally displaced due to recent incidence are given a pack of dry ration which includes wheat flour, dhal, sugar and oil along with two tins of canned fish per week for each family.

These projects are continuing specially in the North and the East provinces as these are the areas affected both by man made disaster and a natural disaster.

The necessary focus is on the most needed and vulnerable groups. The target is to eradicate poverty by 2015 going along the Millennium Development goals.

As initial steps the neediest should be treated. Then, with the undying efforts of the contributing partners, Sri Lanka will be able to look forward to healthy future.

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Gamin Gamata - Presidential Community & Welfare Service
Ceylinco Banyan Villas
www.defence.lk
www.helpheroes.lk/
www.peaceinsrilanka.org
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