• FHB seeks canteen policy due to hike in malnutrition, school dropout rates 

A new curriculum is to be issued in the weeks to come with the purpose of enhancing the knowledge about reproductive health among schoolchildren, said the Health Ministry’s Family Health Bureau (FHB) Director Dr. Chithramalee de Silva.

Speaking to The Daily Morning following a press conference held yesterday (2) in the ministry, Dr. de Silva said that the new curriculum would strengthen the capability of the country’s education system to create awareness of reproductive health among schoolchildren which has not been implemented properly for decades in Sri Lanka.

Dr. de Silva also said that the FHB is to mobilise their staff to schools with insufficient human resources to carry out this programme. She further stated that the bureau has identified the lack of knowledge about reproductive health among schoolchildren as negatively impacting numerous social problems. On the other hand, numerous similar programmes initiated by several Governments have been hampered due to the lack of commitment of the educators and teachers and owing to cultural reasons, she noted.

Meanwhile, the FHB also urged the need for a satisfactory canteen policy to be implemented in the wake of a rapid increase in malnutrition and overweight schoolchildren being reported in comparison with previous years. Dr. de Silva said that the percentage of malnourished children, which was 19.5% last year (2022), has increased to 21% this year (2023).

Speaking at the same press conference, FHB School Health Unit Chief Dr. Ayesha Lokubalasooriya said that hundreds of children have started leaving school due to the economic crisis and that the situation is worse in areas such as Colombo and Kurunegala. She said that male students in many small schools within the Colombo Municipality have left schooling, adding that even principals are helpless in this situation.