Child health 'better managed' under Soeharto

Child health 'better managed' under Soeharto

Iskandar Zulkarnaen, Antara News Agency/Samarinda

A letter to the editor appearing in a national newspaper recently
asked President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to lower the price of
fuel as the fuel price hike was blamed for the high incidence of
malnutrition in many areas across the nation.

It would need serious research to determine whether there is
positive correlation between the fuel price hike and
malnutrition. But, one thing for sure is that the malnutrition
problem is immediate and needs to be addressed urgently.

The problem, which surfaced during the reform era, was
shocking as it was never present during the New Order era under
president Soeharto, which was considered a repressive and corrupt
regime.

Although the regime was corrupt, malnutrition was virtually
unheard of as the Soeharto government had administered integrated
health service posts (posyandu) in almost all neighborhoods
across the nation. The administration of those posts, which
involved government officials and health workers, was consistent
and well guided. Post workers helped distribute supplementary
nutritious food and provided a basic medical check up for infants
and children so that malnutrition was able to be controlled and
averted. Children were immunized at the posts and were regularly
weighed.

"The situation has changed markedly since 1998. We have to
admit that the posyandu program has been neglected since the fall
of the Soeharto government in 1998 because the program was
considered a remnant of the Soeharto era.

This perception is wrong," said East Kalimantan governor
Suwarna. He said that not all New Order government programs were
bad.

The posyandu program is among the good programs that has to be
maintained and developed, he said.

Through this program, the government was able to monitor the
health of infants and children so that it could prevent
malnutrition. The program was able to reach out to every family
across the archipelago as the posts had been established in
almost all neighborhoods here.

However, government attention to the program has been
declining. According to a data from the East Kalimantan National
Family Planning Body, the number of officials who coordinate the
health posts has been reducing over time. In 10
regencies/municipalities in East Kalimantan, not including the
big cities of Samarinda, Balikpapan and Kutai Kartanegara, the
number of these officials has declined to two or three in every
regency/municipality from dozens or even hundreds during the New
Order era.

Suwarna lamented the situation as the officials were important
to attract and mobilize people to bring their children to the
posyandu in order to be vaccinated or given supplementary foods.
They can also encourage people to use contraception.

Given the importance of the posyandu, Governor Suwarna has
ordered all mayor and regents to reactivate the posts.

The reactivation is a pressing need as 8,583 infants in the
province were found to be malnourished last year, said assistant
to the East Kalimantan provincial secretary Nusyirwan Ismail. The
infants were a sizable percentage of a total of 360,398 infants
in the province. "However, thank God, none of infants in the
province are suffering from severe malnutrition (marasmus)," said
Nusyirwan.

If the health posts were reactivated it could prevent
malnutrition and the polio outbreak from spreading in the
province.

Currently, some nine people who have contracted polio have
been found in several regencies and municipalities across the
province.

"President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration
apparently should learn from the Soeharto administration in
tackling malnutrition and polio," said Nusyirwan.