A joint programme will be launched in the Ratnapura district, to combat child abuse and prevent children from getting addicted to drugs, Sabaragamuwa Governor Niluka Ekanayake said. This will be undertaken with the active co-operation of the Sabragamuwa Provincial Council, Divisional Secretariat, police and civil organisations, she added.
She was addressing a conference held at her office on May 18. Ratnapaura District's Head of Sexually Transmitted Diseases Unit Dr. Kanchana Upasena who attended the meting, said that a high incidence of child abuse had been reported in the Ratnaprua district.
The main cause for this is drug addiction among a large number of schoolchildren in the Ratnapura, Embilipitya and Balangoda Education zones, Dr. Kanchana Upasena said. He said that it was imperative for parents to have tabs on the activities of their children. He said so far, 30 cases of child abuse had been reported in the district, this year.