Enhancing nutrition

The Health Ministry yesterday commenced a nutrition program with UNICEF assistance for 40,000 children and 2,500 pregnant mothers in the IDP Centres at the Menik Farm. This indeed is a commendable move given the fact that this segment of our population were denied not just their nutrition intake but even the basic sustenance while in the grip of the LTTE for over three decades.

Not only did the LTTE appropriate the bulk of the food stocks sent to the North but also blasted food vessels sailing to the North forcing the people into semi starvation. This program hopefully will improve the health conditions of women and children suffering from long time malnutrition.

Such a well planned and coordinated program no doubt would make these children fit and healthy by the time they are ready to leave the welfare centres and start life afresh in their original habitats. Those clamouring for the release if IDPs in haste should understand that such a coordinated program would be difficult to implement once the families have left these welfare centres. Neither will there be proper supervision.

Therefore it is advisable that these children who had been denied their basic nutrition be subjected to close supervision and individual attention while at these welfare centres.

While accepting that the children and pregnant mothers should be accorded priority attention, it would be ideal if the Ministry also thinks of a similar program for the adults especially the elderly and feeble who had been living in deprivation for the most part of their lives. True, the Government supply these people all their food requirements supplemented by relief provisions from abroad. But there may be a sizable number if persons in these welfare centres who are in need of special attention. The medical teams could sort them out, so that they could be provided the extra care and nourishment. Because the emaciated forms among the fleeing multitudes during the final stages of the war show the pathetic plight of these people.

They should also be provided with the necessary psychological counselling so that they would be strong in mind to pick up the pieces when they eventually go to their homesteads.

As we mentioned in these columns before all these no doubt are contributing to the normalisation process where these unfortunate people will be gradually taken through the paces of their new life they are to lead in a peaceful environment.

The Government has made life in these IDP centres as normal as could be obtained under the circumstances. Special classrooms for children are conducted, University students allowed to attend lectures, GCE OL, AL candidates given the opportunity to sit for their examinations. Now we have the nutrition program for children and mothers that was implemented in the South but never in the former uncleared areas. Hopefully these long suffering people will be well equipped to begin their new lives from the base provided at these IDP centres.

Bio-piracy

Bio-piracy has assumed serious proportions in Sri Lanka going by the revelations by a Customs official involved in the detection of an endemic aquatic plant that was to be exported in another name to avoid detection. According to Sri Lanka Custom's Bio Diversity Protection Unit Head Samantha Gunasekera, he and his colleagues at the BIA Air Cargo export terminal had received death threats following the detection of a consignment of Kekatiya plants while about to be shipped adopting the ruse.

What is alarming is the involvement of scientists in the gene-theft and the political protection afforded to the clandestine spiriting away of the country's valuable plants.

It is no secret that smuggling of the country's rare species of plants and even reptiles and insects has become a multi-million dollar business of unscrupulous elements with high connections. These plants are most often destined to the Western countries who have been accused of theft of the wealth of Third World countries. Sri Lanka is no exception and even today we are demanding from the British the return of our wealth removed from the country. The Government should carry out a thorough investigation to ascertain if there is conspiracy to rob the country further of it's treasured possessions such as its rare plants through local agents.

Strict laws should be introduced to punish those responsible for gene-theft.