Half a million malnourished - aid workers

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Around 500,000 persons suffer from malnutrition in the Vanni, accrding to NGO health workers region. Though not harsh as in Ethiopia, malnutrition has reached grave levels, they said. There have been a series of deaths due to this condition.

Two deaths from the Vanni region were recorded on Tuesday.

Kannathasan Shanthi (11) from Jaffna, died of Malaria at Kanthapuram in Konavil. Eesan Rama (15) from Viswamadu in Jaffna, died from Cerebral Malaria at Mallakam Hospital.

A number of persons get treatment daily in the Akkarayan Kulam area for anaemia due to malnutrition. It is difficult to treat these patients because there is no blood for transfusion available in the area, said the NGO sources.