Diarrhea claims 14 lives in Kupang

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara: An outbreak of diarrhea has blighted the East Nusa Tenggara village of Tanini over the last two months, leaving at least 14 people dead and dozens of others in a critical condition.

The high number of fatalities is largely because of the lack of access to emergency medical aid, Daniel Tomeno, a community leader, said on Thursday.

"The absence of medics in the village has forced sufferers and their relatives to use ineffective traditional medicines. They take a long time to reach the public health center and are usually too late to obtain medical aid," Daniel said.

Daniel, along with fellow community leaders in the village, met with Kupang Regent Ibrahim A. Medah to complain about the government's belated move to tackle the endemic.

In his response, Ibrahim promised to establish a public health center with an adequate number of medics. -- JP