Lanka tops Child-Friendliness Index in South Asia

by Ranil Wijayapala

The Government’s initiative to protect children’s rights and look into their needs in the past few years helped Sri Lanka to score a first in the Child-Friendliness Index among South Asian countries, Child Development and Women’s Affairs Minister Tissa Karaliyadda said.

He said the three-year survey conducted by the South Asian Initiative to End Violence Against Children revealed that Sri Lanka had the highest score in the Child-Friendliness Index in the South Asian region.

The survey was conducted taking into account child health, education, and protection as the main criteria in measuring the child friendliness environment.

The Minister said the hotlines 1929 to report the cases of violence against children and 1938 to report the incidents of violence against women made a major impact on protecting children and women keeping Sri Lanka in the highest position in terms of protecting children and women’s rights, the Minister said.

He said the Government had also taken steps to prevent mothers with children under five going abroad as domestic aides considering the situation these children face at home in the absence of their mothers.

He said children in Sri Lanka are fortunate to have a leader such as President Mahinda Rajapaksa who loves children more than any other world leader.

“Therefore, we always set up early childhood development centres countrywide to promote child education rather than opening orphanages to serve destitute children”, the Minister said.