Health and socio-economic determinants of malnutrition in the plantation sector of Sri Lanka
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Date
2015-08
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka
Abstract
In the early 19th century, the
predominant agrarian economy of
Sri Lanka was transformed into a
commercial and capitalist nature,
with the introduction of the
plantation (estate) sector by the
British colonial rulers. Among the
key cultivation crops in Sri Lanka,
tea became the major export crop
after the destruction of coffee
plantations due to a fungal
disease. Due to the failure of
recruiting sufficient labour force
from the indigenous Sinhala and
Tamil communities, thousands of
labourers were brought from
South India for employment in the
estates. These Indian labourers
were relocated in the estates,
particularly in the central hills.
Considering the specific nature of
the population living in those
localities, including their
occupational and ancestral
relations, those areas are
categorized as the estate sector.
Due to political, cultural and
religious sensitivity of the estate
sector, and the historically
established management styles
of those geographical boundaries
they reside, different service
delivery models and service
seeking behaviour has evolved.
Health is no exception.