The key findings of the 2016 Sri Lanka Demographic and Health Survey (SLDHS) indicate that 17% of children under 5 years were stunted, 15% were wasted and 21% were underweight. These figures do not show a significant improvement from the 2006 SLDHS survey findings. When comparing the national infant and young child feeding (IYCF) strategy objectives alongside the trends in SLDHS data for IYCF from 2006 to 2016, significant improvements are observed in breastfeeding and to a lesser extent in complementary feeding. Other national level surveys and the small local studies confirm these findings. However, these improvements do not appear to have impacted on the stagnant nutrition indices which are present despite a general improvement in the economy reflected by an increasing GDP over this period. An examination of current evidence is required to identify whether a change in strategy is required to address this “last mile” in improving both IYCF practices as well as nutrition indices in the country.

链接地址：https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/329509