Sitanala to stop ex-lepers' rations<\/p>\n
TANGERANG: Sitanala Hospital deputy director Dr. JP Handoko
\nSoewono said the hospital had decided to stop providing monthly
\nrice rations to former leprosy patients from December.<\/p>\n
"We operate as a hospital not as a social institution to
\ndistribute handouts. That's why we decided to stop the rations,"
\nhe told The Jakarta Post here on Friday.<\/p>\n
He said that the ration used to consist of a number of staple
\nfoods, including rice, cooking oil, milk, and instant noodles.<\/p>\n
But since 1997, when the hospital was opened to the public, it
\nhas offered reduced rations of just 10 kg of rice per month for
\neach selected former patient.<\/p>\n
To qualify for assistance, the selected former patients, who
\nnumber only about 100, must receive a monthly income of less than
\nRp 200,000 (US$21.01). Those who receive more than this amount
\nper month are excluded from the handouts.<\/p>\n
There are about 1,000 former leprosy patients who mostly
\nlive in a two hectare landsite called Serba Guna ex-leper complex
\nbehind the hospital.<\/p>\n
Handoko said that the former patients were called
\nex-lepers because they had passed a supervision period of more
\nthan one year, while those who had been under hospital
\nsupervision for between six months and a year were described as
\nleper patients. -JP<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sitanala-to-stop-ex-lepers-rations-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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