Don't let investing in children fall by the wayside
UNICEF's Country Representative Christian Skoog stresses the importance of filling in the gaps created by COVID and the economic crisis and getting back on track for the sake of the children and the country
The fallout from the COVID pandemic and the economic crisis has been especially devastating for Sri Lanka’s children. While acknowledging that difficult decisions have to be made given current budgetary constraints, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Country Representative Christian Skoog urged the government to “think beyond today” and safeguard investments in the country’s children. He warned that failure to do so will leave a lasting negative impact for decades to come.
Having been UNICEF’s country representative for almost three years, Mr. Skoog is well-aware of the toll the pandemic and the economic crisis have taken on Sri Lanka’s children. Nutrition continues to be a big issue, with the situation having worsened due to COVID and the economic crisis, he said. Children eat less and eat less nutritious food. Some might be having fewer meals. Meanwhile, the school meals programme has been interrupted. UNICEF continues to help children with different aspects of their nutrition, he noted.
The organisation has also supported data collecting services to determine how many children are malnourished so that it can help with their treatment, particularly those with severe acute malnutrition. This includes providing them with readyto-use therapeutic food, which is used to treat children threatened by severe wasting.
When it comes to education, Mr Skoog pointed out that the Education Ministry’s own research has painted a grim picture of the situation faced by children owing to the crises. Ministry data shows that of Grade 3 students, only 14% and 15% respectively have the basic competencies in literacy and numeracy (reading, writing and counting). Accordingly, about 85-86 out of every 100 children that age do not have the basic foundation in these key areas. “It’s like a house. You can’t build it if you don’t have a solid foundation,” he told the Sunday Times.
Although the data is scarce, it is known that violence in different forms against children and violence in general had increased when people had to be at home during pandemic-imposed lockdowns, while economic hardships led to stress, said the UNICEF representative. “Violence, both directly and indirectly against children is on the rise and the institutions that support victims and respond to the violence are very weak.”
When it comes to child protection, he said that there were too many children in institutions, including children’s homes and detention centres. Ideally, children should be in a family setting, as recommended by Sri Lanka’s own National Alternative Care Policy for Children. Yet some are put in to children’s homes while others are sent to detention centres for even minor crimes and spend years there. Most children are in such centres owing to poverty, said Mr. Skoog. “These centres aren’t for children. We want to find family solutions to avoid children (being placed) in these institutions or detention.”
UNICEF has also campaigned against corporal punishment. Mr Skoog said there is ample evidence to show that using physical violence on children in the name of disciplining them is detrimental to their growth
and development. Children also tend to replicate the same behaviour when they get older, using violence on their own children. “We want to break that cycle. We want Sri Lanka to ban corporal punishment in all settings. That means in school, at home and in the community in general. There is a lot of support for parents and teachers to understand how to use positive parenting or positive education. It’s not always easy but if you want results and you want the child to be better and develop, violence doesn’t work,” he emphasised.
Budgetary allocations for child protection are also extremely insufficient, he said, adding that the Ministry of Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment is “one of the poorest ministries.” He appealed to the government to provide more budgetary support for the ministry, which is responsible for the welfare
of the most vulnerable.
Sri Lanka also falls far short of international benchmarks in terms of investment in education and health. In education, it invests just over 7% of the government Budget. The international benchmark is 15-20% for a middle income country such as Sri Lanka. On health, the country invests 7.3% and that’s equivalent to 1.4% of its GDP. But the international benchmark just to achieve universal health coverage is 5% of the GDP.
It’s important to recognize however that Sri Lanka has done well investing less in these areas than many other countries, said Mr Skoog. The country has historically good health and education outcomes. “Now, after COVID and the economic crisis, things need to be reinforced.”
The earlier a country invests in a child’s life, the better the return on that investment, he added. The first 1000 days from conception until the second birthday is the most important period. “If you get things right then, the child will be on a good track. We understand there is less money. There are debt payments, but the best investment to make are in social services. Sri Lanka has proven that over the years by investing in this area and that’s why they have had good outcomes. We cannot let that slip now.”
He warned that if the country fails to safeguard investment in children, it could have terrible consequences in the decades to come given that about 85% of children whose learning had been impacted by the crises don’t have the basic fundamentals in literacy and numeracy. “They will become a burden on society instead of being a contributor in 10, 15 or 20 years. You will have an excellent workforce if you invest in children. If you don’t, there are going to be many youths coming into the workforce as unskilled labour. It will be very difficult for the country to bear that burden.”
There have been some positive developments however. The government recently amended the Children and Young Person’s Ordinance. Introduced in 1939, the legislation previously covered only those up to the age of 16. The recent amendment extended its protection to all those under 18 years. This is a significant step forward as previously, children between ages 16-18 years who had committed offences were placed in adult prisons. With the amendment, the 16 and 17 year olds will be treated as children under the judicial system, the UNICEF representative said. “There will be alternative solutions for them. They will not be sitting in prison with adults.”
Sri Lanka is also set to soon subscribe to the International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes. The country has one of the highest rates of exclusive breastfeeding in the world and subscribing to the international code will further ensure this standard by regulating the promotion of these breast-milk substitutes. The Health Ministry is also leading the way to regulate the selling and marketing of processed foods and sugary drinks to children. Mr Skoog said these are positive steps and hoped there will be a system of oversight to ensure these regulations are implemented.
“It’s important to recognise the great strides that Sri Lanka has made for children since Independence,” said the UNICEF representative. Immunization rates are extremely high. School is available for everyone, but action should be taken to maintain the right quality as this had gone down with the crises. Drinking water is readily available to almost 90% of the population. “Those are fantastic achievements. We just need to make sure that they are maintained and we can fill the gaps created by COVID and the economic crisis and get back on track,” he stressed.
We want Sri Lanka to ban corporal punishment in all settings. That means in school, at home and in the community in general. There is a lot of support for parents and teachers to understand how to use positive parenting or positive education. It’s not always easy but if you want results and you want the child to be better and develop, violence doesn’t work