240 toddlers malnourished

240 toddlers malnourished

BOGOR: Head of the public health monitoring unit with the
Bogor health agency, Camalia Wilayat, said that currently there
were 240 children under five-years-old suffering from poor
nutrition.

"Since January, we have found 240 malnourished children in 40
districts. In most cases, these condition were due to the lack of
health workers and health posts in the neighborhoods," she
claimed.

Thirty-five of the children were suffering from marasmus, one
had kwashiorkor, while another five had marasmic kwashiorkor, all
of which are results of serious protein-energy deficiencies.

According to the agency's data, out of about 500,000 children
under five in Bogor, only 60 percent of them routinely undergo
health checks at the village health posts.

"We encourage parents to always bring their children to health
posts for thorough checks ... There, we provide the children with
food supplements," Camalia said. -- JP