Significant percentage of displaced children are malnutrished

Aid workers on ground have expressed concern over the nutritional status of thousands of children in the IDP camps in northern Sri Lanka. Concerns are growing that the number of malnourished children is higher than earlier estimated among thousands of recently displaced in Sri Lanka, said IRIN in its report.

Out of the near 300,000 internally displaced persons (IDP), 13 percent is estimated to be children below five years. According to humanitarian sources one in four of them are suffering from acute malnutrition and need immediate rehabilitation with therapeutic food and treatment. Overall a significant percentage of children are malnourished.

“We are obviously concerned about this, but as we don’t have access to the camps, we’re clueless as to the true extent of the problem,” an international aid worker in Colombo has said.

Those who arrived most recently from the conflict zone suffered the most, enduring acute shortages of food and water for extended periods. During the month of of April only 1 to 2 percent of the food quota was sent to the no fire zone resulting in severe starvation and malnutrition.

“The most vulnerable and most needy, including the injured, sick, elderly and small children are often the ones that miss out since they don’t have the ability to wait in queues for up to 10 hours,” David White, deputy country director for Oxfam GB, has told IRIN in Colombo.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is constructing 21 nutrition centres across the camps and supplied more than 250 metric tonnes of food for malnourished children.

UNICEF, however, said access difficulties were preventing it from meeting all needs.

“The nutritional situation of children is a huge concern for UNICEF, and restrictions on access at this most critical of moments diminish our ability to help malnourished children,” James Elder, UNICEF’s spokesman in Sri Lanka, has told IRIN, adding that any restrictions on access to camps had damaging consequences for children given the enormous amount that needs to be done in terms of sanitation, health, nutrition, protection and education.

Since 18 May, access to Menik Farm, the largest IDP centre with more than 220,000 people, remains restricted, OCHA reported. Restrictions are placed on number of vehicle entering the site and the aid agency staff are being prevented from moving freely inside camps.

According UN officials the situation has improved a little, “We continue to work with the government on this issue and hope that there will be more improvement in access in the coming days,” the UN official said.