Diarrhea common in poor children: Survey

Diarrhea common in poor children: Survey

Dewi Santoso, Jakarta

Approximately 11 percent of children aged below five years old
suffer from diarrheal diseases annually, a survey says,
highlighting that the diseases remain a serious concern among
toddlers in the country.

Data from the Indonesia Demographic and Health Survey (SDKI)
shows that in 2002 and 2003, approximately 11 percent of children
aged below five, most of whom were from low-income families,
suffered from diarrheal diseases. The percentage has not changed
since 1997.

Children aged below five account for 10.4 percent, or more
than 22 million of the country's total population of 220 million.

The data further shows that Bandung, West Java has the highest
incidence of diarrheal diseases among toddlers, (15 percent),
followed by Makassar, South Sulawesi, (16 percent).

Team leader of the Coalition for Healthy Indonesia, Tini
Hadad, said on Friday that lack of access to clean water caused
diarrheal diseases to remain a serious issue among children of
low-income families.

"The two cities (Bandung and Makassar) are capital cities in
which clean water is supposedly abundant and readily accessible,
but, the fact is that it is not," said Tini.

Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) reveals that
every year, approximately 1.3 million children in developing
countries die from diarrheal diseases.

Data from the Ministry of Health shows that the fatality rate
(CFR) of children suffering from diarrheal diseases surged to 2.4
percent in 2002, from 1.9 percent in 2001.

Tini criticized the government over the limited access to
clean water, saying it had not been paying enough attention to
health issues.

"The government must provide access to clean water and
information on how to live a healthy life," she said.

For her part, she said, she would conduct a study in the two
cities to further collect data on children suffering from
diarrheal diseases and their lifestyles, in order to better
understand the issue.

The research will take five weeks and involve 700 respondents
from each city.

Tini explained that when the study was finished, she would
tour the two cities to provide the people with information on
healthy living and keeping the environment clean to prevent
diarrheal diseases.

She added that the research would also be used to design a
program on improving hygiene through behavioral changes,
communication and health promotion.

"The effort to improve health must come from all levels of
society, and that's why I encourage everyone to participate in
promoting a clean environment," said Tini.