UNICEF brings Sri Lankan corporates together to discuss investing in children
View(s):The expert panel featured Samantha Ranatunga, Chief Executive and CEO of CIC Holdings, and Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce; Dilhan Fernando, Director at Dilmah/MJF Holdings; Murtaza Esufally, Group Director- Hemas and Ms. Dilani Alagaratnam, President, Group Legal, Sustainability and ERM, John Keells Group. The discussion was moderated by Sunday Times Business Editor Feizal Samath.
UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia, Jean Gough spoke on the overarching theme of investing in the cognitive capital of the next generation, especially the promotion of optimal brain development during early childhood. This is particularly important given the need for Sri Lanka to sustain achievements in child and maternal health complemented by developing its cognitive capital, which is the intellectual, creative, critical thinking, and social skills, at the pivotal stages of early, mid and late childhood.
In comments at the meeting released by UNICEF Colombo, Mr Fernando emphasised the crucial first 1000 days of life in establishing a child’s creative ability and the need for adjusting systems to be more inclusive for differently abled children. He further elaborated that the private sector has the skills and knowledge to reinforce national efforts for poverty alleviation.
Urgent interventions to halt the increasing number of children, especially boys dropping out at the secondary school level, and strong investments in quality education are crucial for Sri Lanka to compete in the global economy. According to Ms. Gough every dollar invested in education and nutrition can earn a return of 17 dollars for each child. In this respect, Mr. Esufally, highlighted that teachers, schools and parents need to harness the power of sport and play to nurture the soft-skills of children away from purely class room based learning. Further elaborating on this, Mr. Ranatunga emphasised the need to enhance communication particularly fluency in the English language for rural schools.
The prevention of violence is vital investment for strong socio economic returns. This involves reducing public expenditure on crisis response services, impacting positively on health, improving educational outcomes, and preventing crime and the intergenerational cycle of violence. Ms. Alagaratnam emphasised on the need for efficient and effective law enforcement and the need for a more responsive approach to dealing with victims especially children and women. Research has established that violence in childhood may have long-term consequences on the well-being of individuals; and given its scale, in aggregate it significantly undermines cognitive capital.
The panel concluded that, the private sector can play an integral role in bringing innovation and knowledge to deliver better outcomes for children. In this respect, UNICEF’s convening of public-private-partnerships can foster and strengthen sustainable development and contribute to the realization of children’s rights. Investing in the cognitive capital of children means, they grow and develop to their full potential; societies become more stable, GDP increases, economies expand and businesses benefit from capable employees – making the case for investing in children both a national priority and better business sense.