Fund for food supplements criticized as too small

JAKARTA (JP): Community health center officials expressed concern on Friday over the paltry sum -- amounting to only Rp 750 per day for each child -- set aside by the city administration for provision of food supplements for undernourished children.

Several officials contacted separately by The Jakarta Post said that, due to the limited funds, they were frequently forced to buy less food and sometimes use their own money to run the food supplement program.

Salmawati of Menteng Health Center in Central Jakarta said the clinic received only Rp 237,800 for three undernourished children for 90 days.

"It is extremely complicated as on the one hand the amount is too little to buy food at increasingly high prices, while on the other hand we find it extremely difficult to choose the most appropriate recipients among the 63 undernourished children. We are afraid it will create jealousy," she said.

Salmawati said that the amount was not enough to buy food for 90 days as was instructed by program organizers. "I use all the money to buy milk or biscuits to feed them. I know that the food will be finished in less than 90 days. But what can I do?"

She also said she was forced to divide packets of biscuits and containers of milk, which were originally allocated for one child, between two children.

A similar complaint was also made by Sri Ratna Sriwulan, head of Kemayoran Health Center in Central Jakarta, who said that sometimes workers were forced to spend their own money to help feed the 20 malnourished children under their care.

At least 3,000 cases of malnutrition in children under five years have been detected in the city. At least 58 children are currently hospitalized because of complications caused by a shortage of food.

One baby was treated for chronic undernourishment, or marasmus kwashiorkor, in the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta.

In the 1998/1999 city budget, the administration allocated between Rp 40 million and Rp 50 million for the program, saying that each child would receive Rp 750 per day for about 90 days.

The administration did not specify how many would receive the allowance, or how they would be chosen, but the planned expenditure would be enough for between 600 and 700 children for the three month period.

The city is to allocate another Rp 100 million from its 1999/2000 budget to the food supplement project for malnourished children.

During the plenary session on the 1999/2000 draft budget at the City Council on Friday, Commission E for social welfare affairs urged the administration to double the amount of the food supplement fund.

Head of the commission Soeparmo said the administration should consider that if the amount of Rp 750 per day was not raised he was afraid it would not help the children at all.

"Who can buy children food with such a small amount of money," he told the Post.

Separately, Deputy Governor for Social Welfare Djailani said he had instructed the five city-owned hospitals to give free treatment to malnourished children.

"I have instructed them to give full attention toward the case as it can be categorized as an emergency," he said.

However, Soeparmo said that despite giving free treatment the hospitals should also publicize it "so that parents of other undernourished children don't need to think about the expenses if the children need to be hospitalized".

Marthin Bimbuain, director of city-owned Tarakan Hospital in West Jakarta, told the Post the hospital had given free treatment to undernourished patients, but disagreed with the suggestion to publicize it.

"We are afraid it will attract people to abuse the offer," he said, adding that those who could actually afford the medical fees would try to be declared incapable of paying.

He said that over the last three months the hospital had treated three undernourished children free of charge. (ind)