23 infants die in S. Kalimantan

23 infants die in S. Kalimantan

BANJARMASIN, South Kalimantan: Twenty-three children in South
Kalimantan, all less than five years old, have died of marasmus
since the onset of the economic crisis nearly two years ago,
Governor Gusti Hasan Aman said here on Thursday.

"Some 161 more are suffering from (marasmus) and are currently
receiving intensive medical treatment," Aman said at a
coordination meeting of the provincial food and nutrition team,
Antara reported.

Marasmus is a condition of chronic undernourishment which
affects mostly children.

Also present at the meeting were State Minister of Food and
Horticulture A.M. Saefuddin, who said at least 114 of the 5,916
undernourished children across the country had died.

He urged an increase of campaigns to increase awareness of
malnutrition, particularly in light of the fact that infants from
middle-class families had also died of malnutrition.

Aman said parents' poor knowledge of marasmus and the high
cost of medical treatment had led to increasing malnutrition
among children.

Most of the infants who died were from the provincial capital
of Banjarmasin, he said.

Saefuddin said in the 1999/2000 state budget, the government
had allocated 250 tons of rice worth Rp 500 million to help
overcome malnutrition in South Kalimantan.

"I hope this government assistance will really go to pregnant
women and infants less than five years old suffering from
marasmus," Saefuddin said. (anr)