Malnutrition a threat to Central Java kids<\/p>\n
SEMARANG (JP): Nutritional deficiencies could jeopardize the
\nhealth of eight million infants in Central Java, a hospital
\nadministrator warned on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\"If the economy continues like this, more and more parents
\nwill not be able to meet their children's nutritional needs,\"
\nsaid Sulaeman, the director of the Dr. Kariadi General Hospital
\nin this provincial capital.<\/p>\n
Four infants are hospitalized for nutritional deficiencies at
\nhis hospital, he said, adding \"I'm sure there are many more\" at
\nother hospitals or whose parents had yet to seek medical
\nattention or were unable to do so. Children receiving treatment
\nat Kariadi are getting better, he said, because they were
\nadmitted in the early stages of their disorder.<\/p>\n
In data compiled last year, Central Java's 4.16 million poor
\n-- 13.91 percent of its population -- was the highest in the
\nnation.<\/p>\n
\"We hope that during the crisis no children will be treated
\nfor kwashiorkor,\" Sulaeman said, referring to the condition
\ncaused by a high carbohydrate, low protein diet. \"That would be
\nvery dangerous because organs are already damaged in such a
\ncondition.\"<\/p>\n
Dr. Soetomo Hospital in Surabaya, East Java, has reportedly
\nadmitted one two-year-old suffering from kwashiorkor.<\/p>\n
Stephen J. Woodhouse, the United Nations Children's Fund
\n(Unicef) representative for Indonesia and Malaysia, said on
\nMonday that the Surabaya case was only the tip of the iceberg.<\/p>\n
He was quoted by Kompas daily as saying most in danger were
\nfetuses, newborns and infants up to two years old. Ninety percent
\nof human brain cells develop during this crucial period, he
\nadded. Woodhouse had said in April that Unicef data revealed
\neight million infants under five were already seriously
\nmalnourished across the country.<\/p>\n
Unicef cited research conducted over two years by Helen Keller
\nInternational up to June this year which found the number of
\nmalnourished children in Java was tenfold that of other islands.<\/p>\n
The study found the number of underweight infants under 35
\nmonths in Central Java rose from 8 percent in 1996 to 14 percent
\nthis year.<\/p>\n
The International Labor Organization (ILO) has predicted that
\nthe economic crisis could lead to 95.8 million people -- about 48
\npercent of the total population of 202 million -- living below
\nthe poverty line by year's end.<\/p>\n
ILO defines the poverty line in daily calorie consumption as
\n2,200 calories. It measures it in daily earnings of US$1 in urban
\nareas, and 80 U.S. cents in rural areas at a conversion rate of
\nRp 2,300 to the dollar.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Coordinating Minister for Social Welfare and
\nPoverty Eradication Haryono Suyono said the State Logistics
\nAgency had allocated 2.8 tons of rice for 7.3 million poor
\nfamilies.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Palangkaraya mayoralty in Central Kalimantan
\nhas listed 2,681 families newly categorized as living below the
\nofficial poverty line. As of 1996 the Central Bureau of
\nStatistics classified the poverty line for Central Kalimantan as
\nmonthly per capita income of Rp 36,997 in rural areas and Rp
\n47,507 in urban areas.<\/p>\n
The head of the local information office, Sudaryanto, said
\nSaturday as reported by Antara that the affected families were
\nspread across two districts, Bukit Batu and Pahandut, which both
\nhad 21 subdistricts. Palangkaraya was previously listed as an
\narea free of families living under the poverty line.<\/p>\n
The local administration is planning subsidized sales of rice
\non Sept. 28, in which each family will be able to buy 10
\nkilograms of the food staple for Rp 1,000 per kg, he said.<\/p>\n
The administration will deliver the rice by boat to the more
\nremote subdistricts, Sudaryanto added. (har\/01\/anr)<\/p>",
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