Dialog , UNICEF to combat child abuse

by Lalin FERNANDOPULLE

Dialog Axiata will invest in developing its telecommunication services to enhance the customer base in the country, said Dialog Axiata PLC Group Chief Operating Officer, Supun Weerasinghe.

He was speaking at a ceremony to partner with UNICEF to donate Dialog Star Points to combat child abuse in the country. He said the company has invested around Rs. 150 m for product development.Dialog has over 7.5 million subscribers and a 56 percent share of the market.“We have a large customer base in the North and the East which are vibrant markets,” Weerasinghe said.

Dialog has around 4,000 direct distribution and retail operation centres across the country and over 20,000 employees. Dialog Axiata, a subsidiary of the Axiata Group was listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange in 2005 and has a market capitalisation of Rs. 73 b. Dialog launched its services in 1995 as the fourth entrant to Sri Lanka’s cellular market and was the first digital network in South Asia. The company operates on 2.5G, 3G, 3.5G and 4G and 4G LTE communications networks, and was the first company to launch commercial 3G and HSPA+ operations in South Asia.

Hutch, Airtel, Mobitel and Etisalat are the other players in the cellular market in the country.Revision TV, Near Field communication, a touch and go fuel card, mobile money are some of the latest products launched by Dialog.UNICEF Sri Lanka Representative, Reza Hossaini said that there is an increase in the number of child abuse cases reported in Sri Lanka.

Desks set up at police stations and hospitals have helped improve reporting of child abuse cases.A large number of children of migrant parents are victims of child abuse in the country.

Reports reveal that a some of these children are the victims of their guardians. According to Justice Ministry data around 2,000 cases of child abuse are filed by the Attorney General's Department each year. Most of the violence is reported within the family.

A UNICEF study in 2005 revealed that 70 percent of children were subjected to abuse by a relative or someone associated with the family while 27 percent were within a relationship and three percent by a stranger.

UNICEF in Sri Lanka is focused on four primary priorities: Child survival and development, Basic education and gender equality (including girls' education), Child protection from conflict, violence, exploitation and abuse, and water and sanitation.

Guided by the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF programs seek to ensure that children are given the best start in life, for the long road to adulthood.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) advocates that every child is born with rights. The right to health, the right to an education, the right to participation, and the right to equality and protection.Sri Lanka has achieved a relatively high status of health as seen by the low levels of infant, child and maternal mortality and high life expectancy.

However, despite advances in child and maternal survival, under-nutrition remains a major public health problem that UNICEF is heavily engaged in. Dialog Axiata PLC Senior Manager Group Corporate Affairs, Thushara Hettihamu said that funds generated through the Star Points rewards will contribute to build a violence-free society for children.