PERCOBAAN JANGAN DIPAKAI!!!!!!!!

PERCOBAAN JANGAN DIPAKAI!!!!!!!!

Children to receive health rights

Debbie A. Lubis
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

Mega Susanti, a three-and-a-half year old girl, stares wide-eyed
at the clown waving at her behind the entrance gate of Fantasy
World in Ancol, North Jakarta.

"C'mon daddy, hurry up. I want to see Mr Clown," Mega tells
her father. Her eyes are sparkling.

Impatient with her father's sluggishness, Mega grabs her
father by his arm, dragging him to the park's gate.

"I've never seen her so excited. I always accompany her to get
medical treatment and I know how pained her face can look. I
believe today is her greatest day," Sutisna, 34, Mega's father
says.

Mega, together with another 54 children with leukemia, was on
an outing organized by the Indonesian Childhood Cancer Foundation
(YOAI) last Saturday.

Diagnosed with leukemia, also known as blood cancer, at the
tender age of 28 months, Mega has to cover her nose and mouth to
prevent infection.

Mega is just one of thousands of children suffering from
cancer in Indonesia.

According to statistics provided by the health ministry, up to
4,000 or 2 percent of the 200,000 new cancer cases every year
involve children.

In Jakarta alone, at least 650 children with cancer are
brought to state-run Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM)
yearly, but the hospital can only treat 115 children.

YOAI chairman Rahmi Adi Putra Tahir said that most children
with cancer were from poor families who often could not afford to
buy medicine.

"It is a child's fundamental right to receive medical care and
health facilities regardless of whether they are rich or poor,"
she said.

YOAI, a non-profit foundation, has donated medicine to 75
children with cancer being treated at various hospitals, while
Indonesian Cancer Foundation (YKI) finances their cancer
treatment.

In a bid to improve medical services to children, the House of
Representatives is currently deliberating a bill on child
protection.

The bill, if endorsed, obliges parents and the government to
support the health of children, and spells out punishments for
those who fail to provide adequate medical services to children.

Indonesia ratified the United Nations Convention on Child
Protection in 1990.

Rahmi said some children with cancer already received
financial assistance from several donors but many more children
suffering from other illnesses were still waiting for medical
treatment.

The government, through its Social Net Safety (JPS) program,
has paid for the treatment of children hospitalized with cancer
in RSCM, Gatot Subroto hospital, Harapan Kita Hospital, and
Fatmawati hospital.

Punishment for neglecting a child's health stipulated in the
Child Protection bill:

1. Maximum 6.5 years in jail and a fine of Rp 4 million

for neglecting a sick child and letting their condition
worsen.
2. Maximum 5 years in jail and a fine of Rp 20 million for
letting an injured child's condition deteriorate.
3. Maximum 15 years in jail and a fine of Rp 100 million

(for letting a sick child die due to negligence)
4. Maximum 10 years in jail, fine Rp 300 million, and the
withdrawal of licenses from medical officials who refuse to give
medical care to children.