Speaking to journalists in Colombo, Cabinet Spokesperson and Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said a large number of Sri Lankan children had become underweight in the last few years due to economic difficulties caused by COVID and the 2022 economic crisis.
The minister said that they had identified preschools which have a high number of underweight children and these institutions would benefit from this initiative.
UNICEF has said that in October 2023, the percentage of children under five years who were underweight was 17.2 per cent, compared to 15.2 per cent in October 2022.
The Island
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