UNICEF noble performance<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post of June 15, 1995, on the front page, raised
\nthe acute problem of the malnutrition of Indonesian children,
\nthat was divulged by a recent Progress of Nations report issued
\nby UNICEF.<\/p>\n
The lesson that we can learn from the report is the fact that
\nif the UN through its political bodies (the Security Council and
\nthe General Assembly) is not always successful or outright fails
\nin its efforts to find solutions to the problems of world
\npolitics, on the contrary the UN is continuously performing noble
\ndeeds as far as the activities of its Specialized Agencies and
\nSpecial Bodies are concerned. This is something that is not
\nwidely known among the public at large. The performance of UNICEF
\nis an outstanding case in point.<\/p>\n
Turning to the above cited UNICEF report, it is noteworthy
\nthat it brought up the still widespread prevalence of
\nmalnutrition, with 40 percent of five-year olds being underweight
\nand 54 percent of under-five death cases being associated with
\nmalnutrition.<\/p>\n
Moreover, the complex nature of the problem appears to be
\naggravated by a high maternal death rate caused by the poor
\ncondition of women's nutrition and anemia, the use of traditional
\nmidwives in villages and the deficiency of sanitation facilities
\nfor households, in which access to clean water is still an acute
\nproblem.<\/p>\n
Another setback affecting children as pointed out by Roger
\nShrimpton, UNICEF's representative for Indonesia, is that a
\nquarter to a half of Indonesia's children are living in areas
\nwith a high risk of iodine deficiency, which causes mental
\nretardation. It was reported that UNICEF urged the government to
\nimmediately implement its plans to add iodine to edible salt to
\nprotect against iodine deficiency.<\/p>\n
Since Indonesia is not a landlocked country but a giant
\narchipelago surrounded by the sea, it sounds rather strange for
\nits culinary to lack iodine. This shows that the rich utilization
\nof seaweed, as a foodstuff, like in Japan, is completely unknown
\nhere.<\/p>\n
Since speaking of the fate of malnourished children has
\ncrucial relevance with the well-being of a large segment of the
\nIndonesian populace of the future, the warning of UNICEF's
\nrepresentative, as reported by The Jakarta Post, at this juncture
\nis timely, when we, Indonesians, above all are in the high spirit
\nto commemorate the 50th anniversary of the nation's independence.<\/p>\n
If the nationwide drive for implementing family planning is
\ncommonly acclaimed as a successful achievement in the past
\nnational development stages, it appears imperative for a similar
\ndrive to be carried out to help overcome the problem of
\nmalnutrition affecting the nation's children. Such a noble drive
\nshould be stepped up nationwide, to which national philanthropic
\nsocieties or institutions, women's clubs and social organizations
\ncan lend their wholehearted support, with a view to improving the
\nquality of life of the country's children. It must be earnestly
\nrecognized that all children, whether of the rich or poor,
\njointly are the nation's future.<\/p>\n
Indeed, UNICEF's performance in its aid to developing
\ncountries must be praised, in that the cornerstone of its
\napproach to development aid is said to consist of the conviction
\nthat children are the means, and thus must be the beneficiaries
\nas well, of national development and that enlightened social
\npolicies benefiting children are a prerequisite for sustained
\neconomic and social progress. This noble aspect of altruism will
\nsurely have an everlasting value.<\/p>\n
To conclude, it must be born in mind that the crowning of
\nUNICEF's achievements found manifestation in the award of the
\nNoble Peace Prize conferred on it back in 1965.<\/p>\n
SAM SUHAEDI<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/unicef-noble-performance-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }