IPB boosts diet of its malnourished students<\/p>\n
Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor<\/p>\n
Media reports on dietary deficiencies have focused on infants and
\nelementary students from low-income families.<\/p>\n
The Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), however, introduced
\na program in 2001 to improve the quality of its students' diets
\nas it was suspected that many new arrivals to the school were
\nundernourished.<\/p>\n
This academic year there are 68 students with acute anemia,
\nsaid the head of the university's medical center, Sri Budiarti.<\/p>\n
\"The fact that there are 68 students with anemia and dozens of
\nothers with infectious diseases means that undernourishment and
\npoor sanitation are a major problem in many regions of the
\ncountry,\" she said on Monday.<\/p>\n
She added that many freshmen had chicken pox or suffered skin
\nand respiratory infection diseases, while 66 students this year
\nhad a condition called proteinuria, a kidney malfunction caused
\nby the poor quality of drinking water in their homes.<\/p>\n
This year, the IPB received some 2,868 students from all over
\nthe country, including one Japanese student, two Malaysians and
\none student from Timor Leste.<\/p>\n
\"The foreign students have perfect health,\" Sri said.<\/p>\n
All new students are housed in dormitories for one year and
\nrequired to undergo a thorough medical check up.<\/p>\n
Students with anemia receive additional food and vitamins,
\nwhile students with respiratory infections are quarantined in the
\ndormitory for two months before being allowed to join classes.<\/p>\n
\"We are not only curing them from the diseases but we're
\nteaching them how to take care of themselves and to change their
\nlifestyle and diet as well to improve the sanitation of their
\nhomes,\" Sri said.<\/p>\n
According to rector Ahmad Amsori Matjik, 40 percent of 13,000
\nIPB students come from middle- to lower-income families.<\/p>\n
\"We cannot ignore their health condition ... only high
\nachievers at school can enter the university,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The university allocates Rp 2 billion per year for the medical
\ncenter to provide the free health programs for the students.<\/p>",
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