Collective feeding makes children healthier in Sri Lanka An
estimated 7,600,000 children under the age of 5 die every year,
more than 70% of them in Africa and Southeast Asia. About 2/3 of
these deaths are caused by preventable diseases, while more than
1/3 of all child deaths are linked to malnutrition. For 75
years, Plan has been working in remote, impoverished parts of
the world to teach parents better practices to keep their
children healthy, happy and alive. Lower caste = poor quality
careIn Kudugama village of Sri Lanka’s North Central province,
47% of children under the age of 5 were underweight. Because
villagers were from a lower caste, they received lower quality
health services than neighboring villages and dared not complain
to officials to improve the situation. Plan and facilitators
from the Foundation for Health Promotion and Rajarata University
began work to train public health midwives on issues of excluded
communities. Through role playing, peer feedback, case studies,
and home visits, the m