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United Nation's World Food Programme - Mathivathanan - 09-06-2003
<b>Tens of thousands of malnourished children in the former war zone of Sri Lanka are to get free meals under a programme launched on Friday.</b>
It is run by the United Nation's World Food Programme (WFP) and is the first programme of its kind in Sri Lanka.
The ceasefire has brought joy for many children, but deep problems remain
An independent survey commissioned by WFP found up to a quarter of school children in rebel areas in the north and east of Sri Lanka are suffering from acute malnutrition.
It is a measure of the poverty created by the island's prolonged civil war that malnutrition is so common.
An earlier survey by a German aid organisation found a third of children in rebel areas went to school without eating breakfast and were too hungry to study.
Enhancing learning
Initial results from the World Food Programme survey looked at children aged four or five in the first class of school and found a worrying degree of malnutrition.
The WFP project is starting with 33,000 children in more than 100 schools.
The plan is to expand it to cover 170,000 children by next year once delivery systems are established and working smoothly.
The children will be given a free lunch of rice and dahl (pulses) or corn-soya cakes with vegetables to encourage them to attend school in the first place and then enhance their ability to learn.
WFP estimates a quarter of the 100,000 children in the rebel-controlled Wanni area of the north of the island dropped out of school for several years at a time because of the war.
[size=14]A statement from WFP called it a prolonged educational drought and said it hoped the free school meals would give people a ray of hope for a better future as Sri Lanka struggles towards lasting peace.
Although a ceasefire has been in place for more than 18 months, people in the conflict areas complain that they have seen very little benefit in terms of development so far.
Since peace talks between the government and rebels came to a halt in April, many donors have been waiting to see what happens politically before implementing development projects.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asi...sia/3083802.stm