Government to issue free snacks at schools
Government to issue free snacks at schools
JAKARTA (JP): The government will launch an ambitious plan to improve the health of school children this year by distributing high-protein snacks free at primary schools.
State Minister for National Development Planning Ginandjar Kartasasmita yesterday announced details of the scheme, which will be introduced in phases, starting with selected provinces and eventually covering all schools, private and government by 2003.
Ginandjar yesterday reported on the program to President Soeharto at the latter's Jl. Cendana residence. He was accompanied by Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie SM, Minister of Agriculture Syarifudin Baharsyah, Minister of Food Ibrahim Hassan, Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher and Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro.
Ginandjar explained that undernourishment is still prevalent among Indonesian children.
He presented some bleak statistics.
Indonesia has an infant mortality rate of 58 per 1,000 births, the highest among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, while 40 percent of under-fives in Indonesia are undernourished. A 1994 survey of 600 primary school pupils in 27 provinces found that the growth of many children has been stunted because of undernourishment. Between 30 and 40% of all children in Indonesia suffer from anemia, and between 50 and 80% have worm-related diseases.
Supplement
Ginandjar said the government program is intended to supplement children's food intake with high-protein snacks.
The government set conditions on the kind of snacks that schools can give their pupils.
They should have at least 300 calories and five grams of protein, representing about 15% of the minimum calorie and protein intakes a child should have every day.
The cost of their production must not exceed Rp 250 a piece in western Indonesia or Rp 350 in eastern Indonesia.
They must be handed out at least three times a week, and be made with products grown and bought locally, not tinned products.
This year, the program will be implemented in poor villages outside Java and Bali, covering over 2.1 million pupils, or 15 percent of the number of primary-school age children in the country.
Ginandjar estimated that the program will cost Rp 70 billion ($30 million) this year.
The program will be expanded gradually, and schools in Java and Bali will begin to be included in 2000/2001.
By 2002/2003, the government hopes the program can cover all primary schools in the country, and cover 29.28 million pupils. (emb)