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)