Lanka seeks urgent help to feed children

Sri Lanka yesterday issued an urgent appeal to tackle rapidly spreading malnutrition among children as its economic crisis leaves nine out of 10 people dependent on state handouts.

The Ministry for Women and Child Affairs said they were seeking private donations to feed possibly several hundred thousand children wasting due to insufficient food.

"When the Covid pandemic was at its peak, the problem was bad, but now, with the economic crisis, the situation is far worse," Secretary Neil Bandara Hapuhinne told reporters in Colombo.

Hapuhinne said they had counted 127,000 malnourished children among the 570,000 girls and boys below the age of five in mid-2021.