Provision to recruit a National institution to conduct a legal landscape analysis of the food environment policies and regulations relevant to protect the health and nutrition of children in Sri Lanka

Description

Background: Having laws to create healthy school food environments and effectively implementing them is one of four primary evidence-based policy recommendations to address unhealthy food environments, a key driver of all forms of malnutrition. The other three are front-of-package nutrition labels, restrictions on the marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages, and fiscal measures including unhealthy food and beverage taxes. In Sri Lanka as a developing country, while enacting laws that benefit children have been challenging related to healthy food due to pressure from the food and beverage industry, implementing such laws are expected to be even more challenging. The Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education of Sri Lanka, with the support of UNICEF, has adapted the Nutrition Environment Assessment Tool for Schools (NEAT-S), and has completed the food environment assessment within and outside schools in selected districts representing, urban, rural, estate and northeast populations. This study's recommendations carry legal implications, necessitating a thorough examination of existing laws related to the school food environment, along with identifying gaps in their implementation. Additionally, it will be essential to propose recommendations for planning or developing new laws, if required. UNICEF has a separate legal landscape analysis tool to guide an analysis of the policy recommendations for school food environment. Completing a comprehensive analysis is optimal, as there are many areas of overlap, and these policy recommendations work well when they are harmonized. It is ideal for governments to plan or develop laws for them simultaneously