Food for thought: Avoiding a 'lost generation'<\/p>\n
Ida Indawati Khouw and Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Street singer Ropah is mother to Ida, 5, Saripah, 3, and
\nYuliana, three months old. Since her husband is unemployed, she
\nbears the weight of supporting her family, earning a daily income
\nof Rp 5,000 (50 U.S. cents).<\/p>\n
Living beside the railway track between Sawah Besar and Mangga
\nBesar stations, Ropah's children do not get enough to eat. In
\nmedical terms, they are undernourished.<\/p>\n
\"I usually buy nasi bungkus (rice accompanied by fried tofu,
\ntempeh and vegetables) for Rp 3,000 and split it three ways for
\nmy husband, myself and the kids,\" she told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Ropah and her husband eat once a day to ensure their kids eat
\nmore. Ropah also breast-feeds Yuliana.<\/p>\n
\"When I don't get enough money, I simply just buy rice and eat
\nit with salt.\"<\/p>\n
The economic crisis that hit in mid-1997 has burdened the
\nfamily. Before the crisis, Ropah's husband managed to bring home
\nextra money. The cost of living was much cheaper then, and the
\nfamily was able to have decent meals.<\/p>\n
\"We used to have at least an egg or fish in our daily menu,\"
\nshe said.<\/p>\n
Ropah is not alone.<\/p>\n
Her neighbor Dariah, 30, also has to struggle to stay alive.<\/p>\n
Dariah relies on her husband's paltry income to feed their
\nchildren Nurdin, 7, Neneng, 5, and Syarifudin, 11 months.<\/p>\n
Her husband, Udin, sells secondhand goods in the Karang Anyar
\nmarket and earns Rp 10,000 per day.<\/p>\n
The money is enough to provide a meal of rice, tempeh, tofu
\nand vegetables twice a day without any variation.<\/p>\n
Dariah breast-feeds Syarifudin and gives him rice porridge
\nwith a bit of kecap (soya sauce).<\/p>\n
Syarifudin only weighs six kilograms, far below the standard
\nof 10 kg for his age. His scrawny body can hardly support his
\nhead. His motor skills are also far below those of well-fed
\nbabies of the same age. He sits weakly in his mother's lap most
\nof the time.<\/p>\n
If they are not helped, these children may become part of the
\n\"lost generation\" that experts have constantly warned us about.
\nThe theme for this year's World Food Day, Fight Hunger to Reduce
\nPoverty, is particularly appropriate for Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The Helen Keller International Indonesia (HKI) deputy country
\ndirector, Roy Tjiong, said that a great number of Indonesia's
\nchildren were predicted to have a low intellectual capacity and
\nstunted growth in the future due to undernourishment.<\/p>\n
\"The children's condition is worsened by the fact that the
\nparents must buy everything, including clean water, for their
\ndaily needs. Living in a slum area, they don't have a safety net
\nat all, including a place for a home garden (to meet their
\nnutritional needs),\" he said.<\/p>\n
High levels of acute malnutrition are usually only found in
\nemergency or disaster conditions, and indicate that there is a
\nvery serious lack of food at the household level, according to a
\nreport from a World Health Organization expert committee.<\/p>\n
But what kind of hunger is suffered by Indonesians?<\/p>\n
Roy said the malnutrition problem here was not in the quantity
\nof food intake but the quality, as the poor will reduce the
\nintake of micronutrient-rich foods (such as milk, eggs and meat)
\ndue to the increase in prices and their decreased purchasing
\npower after the crisis.<\/p>\n
\"Poor families still prefer to consume rice -- thinking they
\nwill be full -- but they reduce side dishes, including meat,
\nwhich is needed for the development of children between six
\nmonths and 23 months,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The condition results in a \"hidden hunger\", due to
\ndeficiencies in micronutrients of vitamins, trace elements (such
\nas iron) and essential fatty acids.<\/p>\n
It will not take long to see the negative impact.<\/p>\n
Roy said more than 65 percent of children under two years old
\nin the country were affected with anemia, which impairs the
\nimmune system and reduces physical and mental capacity.<\/p>\n
Efforts are being made by worldwide donors, as well as local
\norganizations, to prevent this generation from suffering this
\nneedless tragedy.<\/p>\n
Last January, the UN-sponsored World Food Program (WFP)
\nlaunched a new fortified food intervention program by selling
\nsachets of a soya-blended dietary supplement with enriched
\nvitamins and minerals called Delvita for children aged six months
\nto 24 months old for Rp 100 each.<\/p>\n
\"We will allocate 300 tons of Delvita every year, distributed
\nthrough mothers who join the monthly training on nutrition
\neducation,\" said Philip J. Clarke, the WFP representative here.<\/p>\n
He said it was a shocking fact that 60 percent of deaths
\noccurring in children under five years of age could be explained
\nby malnutrition.<\/p>\n
Reports show that cases of malnutrition have increased
\nsharply. Malnutrition now kills 450 preschool children every day
\nor 170,000 every year.<\/p>\n
The Delvita program, which concentrates on Greater Jakarta,
\nBandung, Semarang and Surabaya, aims to reach 70,000 mothers and
\nchildren.<\/p>\n
\"Due to mothers' lack of knowledge on the proper food for
\nchildren, we offer education on nutrition to them with the help
\nof local non-governmental organizations,\" Clarke said.<\/p>\n
The bimonthly sessions provide health and nutrition education
\nand counseling, and also serve to monitor the growth of children.<\/p>\n
The WFP has distributed annual donations worth US$60 million
\nto Indonesia in the form of food, especially rice, to help the
\ncountry solve its hunger problem.<\/p>\n
All of the efforts are to prevent the much-feared \"lost
\ngeneration\" from becoming a reality.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/food-for-thought-avoiding-a-lost-generation-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}