Govt vows to strengthen malnutrition programs

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Health and Social Welfare Achmad Sujudi called on provincial authorities to develop the Family Improvement Nutrition Program (UPGK) to reduce the number of malnutrition cases across the country.

"Currently there are some 800 million people suffering from malnutrition worldwide, 200 million of whom are children under five years of age," Achmad told a meeting of some 60 UPGK officials from 17 provinces in commemoration of the 20th World Food Day enacted by the FAO here on Monday.

Indonesia, however, is home to eight million people who suffer from malnutrition, one million of whom are in a chronic condition, Achmad said.

"Therefore we have no choice but to start revitalizing and rehabilitating the quality of diet by introducing a nutrition program directly to the subdistricts," he said.

Indonesia named this year's Food Day theme as "Food Supplies to Fight Hunger", while FAO chose the theme "A millennium Free from Hunger".

UPGK's three main programs consist of counseling, nutrition services in the Posyandu (Integrated Health Community Post) and the utilization of residential properties to plant vegetables and herbs used for medicinal purposes.

"We hope that if the program works, in the long run we will have 80 percent of Indonesian families who are already aware of healthy, proper and nutritious diets," Achmad said.

"The operational target by the UPGK program is all babies under five years of age and the continuous monitoring on their nutrition, weight, as well as their mothers and pregnant women," Achmad said.

In the ceremony on Monday, the ministry awarded several regency and subdistrict officials from 17 provinces for their remarkable efforts in developing the program.

"We hope that the program can further eradicate illnesses related to malnutrition such as lack of Vitamin A which leads to poor eye sight, anemia, and lack of iodine," he added.

The FAO expected that the number of people suffering from malnutrition worldwide will drop to 400 million by 2015.

"Here in Indonesia we hope to reduce the number (of eight million people with malnutrition) a lot faster since our condition is not as bad as in Africa or other developing countries," Minister Achmad said.

He said the main problem here is not the food supplies but the purchasing power of people.

"Therefore, we have to empower the people from the very bottom, that is from villages and subdistricts." (09/edt)