A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Wednesday, August 2, 2017
Sri Lanka ranked in the top 23 countries globally on breastfeeding!
Babies and mothers worldwide failed by lack of investment in breastfeeding
Sri
Lanka ranked in the top 23 countries globally on breastfeeding rates,
as new analysis shows an investment of US$4.70 per newborn could
generate US$300 billion in economic gains by 2025.
( August 2, 2017, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) No
country in the world fully meets recommended standards for
breastfeeding, according to a new report by the United Nations
Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in
collaboration with the Global Breastfeeding Collective, a new initiative to increase global breastfeeding rates.
The Global Breastfeeding Scorecard,
which evaluated 194 nations, found that only 40 per cent of children
younger than six months are breastfed exclusively (given nothing but
breast milk) and only 23 countries have exclusive breastfeeding rates
above 60 per cent. Sri Lanka, as one of the first countries in the world
to adopt the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes
in 1981, and following investment in the promotion of breastfeeding
ranks within the top 23 countries, with 82 per cent of mothers
exclusively breastfeeding their children across the nation.
Evidence shows that breastfeeding has cognitive and health benefits for
both infants and their mothers. It is especially critical during the
first six months of life, helping prevent diarrhoea and pneumonia, two
major causes of death in infants. Mothers who breastfeed have a reduced
risk of ovarian and breast cancer, two leading causes of death among
women.
“The
amazing thing about breastfeeding is that it supports the brain
development of children, building their ‘cognitive capital’ and ensuring
they learn and grow into happy, healthy and productive adults.
Breastfeeding is simply one of the most effective investments any nation
can make in the health of their young and the future health of their
economies and societies,” said UNICEF Sri Lanka Representative Tim Sutton. “We
should all be immensely proud that in Sri Lanka 82%* of mothers
exclusively breastfeed their children for six months, but we must all
work to sustain these real gains. Together, we must continue to
implement and monitor the International Code of Marketing of Breast
Milk Substitutes, ensuring that mothers are empowered with the right
information especially in times of emergency; together we must continue
to strengthen the ‘Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative’ which ensures that
hospitals promote breastfeeding; and perhaps most importantly, together
we must continue investing in our health staff, who ensure that
mothers have the knowledge and confidence to breastfeed their children.”
“Breastfeeding
is the best start in life one can give to the newborn and it has
positive effects that last through adulthood – no other health
intervention has a return on investment matching that for
breastfeeding,” said WHO Representative to Sri Lanka, Dr Razia Pendse.
“For sustaining breastfeeding, it is important to ensure nutrition and
health of adolescent girls, women of reproductive age, antenatal and
breastfeeding mothers. Sri Lanka has been a pioneer in promoting and
protecting breastfeeding and has breastfeeding as a central pillar in
the National Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding (2015 – 2020).”
The scorecard was released at the start of World Breastfeeding Week
alongside a new analysis demonstrating that an annual investment of only
US$4.70 per newborn is required to increase the global rate of
exclusive breastfeeding among children under six months to 50 per cent
by 2025.
Nurturing the Health and Wealth of Nations: The Investment Case for Breastfeeding, suggests
that meeting this target could save the lives of 520,000 children under
the age of five and potentially generate US$300 billion in economic
gains over 10 years, as a result of reduced illness and health care
costs and increased productivity.
The investment case shows that in five of the world’s largest emerging
economies—China, India, Indonesia, Mexico and Nigeria—the lack of
investment in breastfeeding results in an estimated 236,000 child deaths
per year and US$119 billion in economic losses.
Globally, investment in breastfeeding is far too low. Each year,
governments in lower- and middle-income countries spend approximately
US$250 million on breastfeeding programs; and donors provide only an
additional US$85 million.
The Global Breastfeeding Collective is calling on countries to:
- Increase funding to raise breastfeeding rates from birth through two years.
- Fully implement the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and relevant World Health Assembly resolutions through strong legal measures that are enforced and independently monitored by organizations free from conflicts of interest.
- Enact paid family leave and workplace breastfeeding policies, building on the International Labour Organization’s maternity protection guidelines as a minimum requirement, including provisions for the informal sector.
- Implement the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding in maternity facilities, including providing breastmilk for sick and vulnerable newborns.
Improve access to skilled breastfeeding counselling as part of
comprehensive breastfeeding policies and programmes in health
facilities.
- Strengthen links between health facilities and communities, and encourage community networks that protect, promote, and support breastfeeding.
- Strengthen monitoring systems that track the progress of policies, programmes, and funding towards achieving both national and global breastfeeding targets.
Breastfeeding is critical for the achievement of many of the Sustainable
Development Goals. It improves nutrition (SDG2), prevents child
mortality and decreases the risk of non-communicable diseases (SDG3),
and supports cognitive development and education (SDG4). Breastfeeding
is also an enabler to ending poverty, promoting economic growth and
reducing inequalities.
*Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), Department of Census and Statistic, 2016