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Mayflower Community Center

Sri Lanka has made significant progress in its human development and socioeconomic indicators since the end of its 26-year civil conflict in 2009, as reflected in tis middle-income status.  The country is on the path to achieving several of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals which are a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all”.

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 severely affected the island nation’s tourism industry, while reducing foreign investment.  Regulations and restrictions to curb successive waves of the pandemic have hampered income-earning opportunities, impacting food and nutrition security in the country.

In spite of its progress, the country faces many socio-economic challenges, including the impact of a nutritional ‘triple burden’ spanning undernutrition, high levels of overweight and obesity, and vitamin and mineral deficiencies.  Undernutrition rates had remained largely unchanged for over a decade when the last Demographic and Health Survey was published in 2016.

Standing at 15%, wasting among children aged under 5 is among the highest in the world.  Sri Lanka’s nutrition status is further aggravated by high levels of overweight and obesity, particularly among woman of reproductive age (45%).

Sri Lanka’s vulnerability to the effects of climate change means extreme weather events such as droughts, floods and landslides continue to compromise food security and nutrition.

In 2021, MM&M partnered with Dr Paul Hoole, (Mayflower Communities Center, Sri Lanka), we focused on nutritious food for children and woman, providing decent education and leadership training support for children and youth in the Sri Lanka’s Hill Country