COLOMBO (News 1st): The Ministry of Health has launched an island-wide survey on the Nutritional Status of children and adults in Sri Lanka.

The survey will be conducted as a joint venture between the World Health Organisation (WHO), the World Children’s Fund, and the Ministry of Health.

According to the Medical Research Institute in Borella, the data collection process in this regard has already commenced and 2000 household units across the island will be used for the survey.

A Nutritional Status Survey of this manner was last conducted in Sri Lanka in 2016.

It has been revealed that the nutritional status of Sri Lanka’s population has undergone drastic changes in recent years, with the closure of the country several times, on the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

An earlier survey conducted by the Ministry of Health revealed that the nutritional status of children and adults in the urban and estate areas was subjected to rapid changes.

In December 2021, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) ranked Sri Lanka on top in South Asia, for ‘Child Wasting’ alongside India.

The World Health Organisation defines ‘Child Wasting’ as the prevalence of wasting among children under 5-years of age; it refers to a child who is too thin for his or her height and is the result of recent rapid weight loss or the failure to gain weight.

• BASL demands withdrawal of Anti-Terrorism and Online Safety Bills
• Foreign Minister clarifies presence of family member at UN General Assembly in New York
• Strict rules to be imposed on school canteens
• Minister of Agriculture explores opportunities to export eggs and chicken
• 12-hour water cut in several areas in Colombo