165 babies die hungry this month
165 babies die hungry this month
JAKARTA (JP): A total of 165 malnourished babies have died
this month due to hunger-related diseases, according to State
Minister of Food and Horticulture A.M. Saefuddin.
He revealed that reported cases of malnutrition affecting
children across the country had jumped from 786 in April to an
estimated 10,000 this month.
Antara reported that the minister was on a visit to Langgea
village in Ranometo district in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, to
study the results of the government's subsidized rice
distribution program. He revealed during his visit that at least
17.5 million families, or 87.5 million people if there are five
members in one family, cannot afford to eat twice a day.
"The government has a large enough stock of rice but many
people simply do not have the purchasing power to buy it," he
said in a meeting with local officials.
At 100,000 locations across the country the government is in
the process of distributing subsidized rice, at a price of Rp
1,000 per kilogram. This program started in July 1998 and will
continue till March 2000. The government has earmarked Rp 7.87
trillion (about US$ 1 billion) for this purpose but due to its
financial difficulties, Saefuddin said, it has spent only Rp 5.7
trillion so far.
He said the government readied 350,000 metric tons of rice
each month but only managed to distribute an average of 250,000
tons.
Saefuddin also encouraged rice farmers who have an excess of
stock to export their rice to neighboring countries like Brunei,
Malaysia and Singapore to get "value-added" benefit.
The government banned the export of rice last year when food
shortage was at its height.
The government, Saefuddin said, imported 5.1 million metric
tons of rice last year and two million tons this year to satisfy
its domestic needs.
He said the government would send 100 metric tons of rice to
Southeast Sulawesi to help refugees from Maluku capital of Ambon
who took temporary shelter in Buton island in Southeast
Sulawesi. (06)