Sri Lanka President urges collective action for a happier, healthier childhood

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, in his Children’s Day 2024 message, highlighted the challenges faced by today’s children, including poverty, malnutrition, and educational inequalities.

He emphasized the need to protect children from harmful social pressures and exam stress, with the goal of creating a happier and healthier childhood.

The President also called for collective efforts to ensure that children grow up in a compassionate and supportive society, while safeguarding the environment and promoting positive change.

Below is the full statement from the President:

The future belongs to our children.

Let’s dedicate ourselves to creating a better world for them!

We have identified several significant challenges facing today’s children, including poverty, malnutrition, inadequate health and sanitation, environmental degradation, educational disparities, social inequalities, and the risks associated with substance abuse and technology misuse.

Our mission in this renaissance era is to free children from harmful prejudices and social effects, and the pressures of exam-focused education, which hinder their psychosocial development. We aim to reclaim the joyful, carefree childhood that every child deserves.

By nurturing a generation of children who are healthy both in mind and spirit, we can foster compassionate, independent, and imaginative individuals who will shape a better future.

To achieve this, we are committed to promoting economic freedom, fostering human kindness, building mutual trust, and encouraging respect and acceptance within society. Additionally, we prioritize the protection of our rich environmental heritage and advocate for necessary political transformation.

This is a shared responsibility for all of us!

Anura Kumara Dissanayake
President
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka