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)