Help sought in curbing malnutrition

Help sought in curbing malnutrition

JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie expressed on Tuesday deep
concern over how the economic crisis had caused malnutrition
levels to soar, particularly among infants and children under
five, and appealed to the financially better-off to help the
poor.

"In the last few months, cases of edema from malnutrition have
been found among babies and children in various places across the
country," he said when addressing a ceremony marking the
commemoration of National Health Day.

Accompanied by First Lady Hasri Ainun Habibie, Coordinating
Minister for People's Welfare and Poverty Eradication Haryono
Suyono, Minister of Communications Giri Suseno Hadihardjono and
State Minister of Women's Roles Tutty Alawiyah, the President
said the problem must be tackled immediately to ensure that
babies and children grow up healthy and intelligent.

Speaking through a video link to those attending the ceremony
in Sidoardjo, East Java, Habibie said the government had launched
a Rp 1.4 trillion (US$184 million) social safety net project in
the health sector, intended mainly to help poor families,
pregnant women and children under two years old.

"Let us forge social solidarity and humanity in helping
members of society in the low-income bracket," he said, calling
on well-off families those less fortunate.

Experts have for the past few months raised increasing alarm
over the escalating food crisis and the possibility of poor
nutrition leading to the birth of a generation with permanent
poor health and low intelligence. The signs of this emerging
"lost generation" were evident in reports about the existence of
severely malnourished children -- many with distended bellies --
in various cities.

Experts have also estimated that the actual number of children
suffering from nutritional deficiencies, technically known as
marasmic-kwashiorkor, could be 10 times higher than reported.
Moreover, the number of malnourished children in Java is tenfold
that of other islands. Last year, Central Java was recorded as
having 4.16 million poor people, or 13.91 percent of its
population, the highest proportion in the nation.

Central Java Governor Mardiyanto said in Cilacap on Tuesday
that 27.6 poor people in the province were facing food shortages,
acknowledging its new status as the poorest province in the
country.

"Around 33 percent of the 80 million poor people in Indonesia
live in the province," he said. "This is a national problem, we
can't handle it alone."

Experts have also warned that acute nutritional deficiencies
not recorded for 20 years were making a comeback, presenting the
likelihood of a dearth of high-quality human resources in the
first decade of the new millennium.

Soekirman of the National Institute of Sciences first
highlighted in October the discovery of new cases of marasmic-
kwashiorkor, which was last found here in the late 1970s.

Marasmic-kwashiorkor, caused by a high carbohydrate, low
protein diet, damages the body's internal organs. Among the
symptoms are the body becoming thin and dehydrated, while
kwashiorkor is identified by swollen body parts such as the feet,
stomach and face.

Another study has found significant recurrences of certain
types of malnutrition in Central Java, including the reemergence
of vitamin A deficiency which had been eradicated in 1993.

The malnutrition level among infants under three was around 8
percent in 1996, but in 1998, it has increased to 15 percent.

The government has launched various measures to deal with the
situation. For instance, Antara reported from Ambon, the capital
of Maluku, that the Ministry of Social Services has sent 140
metric tons of rice in aid for about 270 families in five
isolated areas and 1,450 residents of orphanages in the province.

The aid will start in December and last for nine months. Each
person in the project will receive 200 grams of rice.

The news agency reported from Mataram, the capital of West
Nusa Tenggara, that starting in early December, a total of
789,000 poor families in the province will be given free medical
examinations and treatment.

The head of the local health office, Aswandono, said
registrations were under way and it was possible that the number
of people who will be served would increase. Those seeking the
service will be required to bring certificates from local
authorities testifying to their financial situation.

Aswandono was concerned the economic crisis would cause the
overall health of the province to decline even further. The
current infant mortality rate in the province is 68.5 per 1,000
live births while the maternal mortality rate was 370 per 100,000
live births.

Less than 10 years ago, the infant mortality rate was 180 per
1,000 live birth while the maternal mortality rate was 400 per
100,000 live births.

"The current figure is still higher than in other provinces,"
he said. (swe/prb/45)