Illegal fees mar anti-polio drive

JAKARTA: Minister of Health Achmad Sujudi said that there were some government workers demanding fees during the first part of a national polio vaccination program that was under way.

Sujudi said, however, that the number of officials at fault was not significant enough to put the program in a bad light.

"There are only a few of them, which doesn't compare to the millions of others who are honest workers," Sujudi said on Saturday.

Citing an example, Sujudi said one civil servant in Bekasi, West Java got money from asking the parents whose children were to be vaccinated to buy souvenirs.

The government has allocated Rp 104 billion to provide free vaccinations for 20 million children under the age of five. The first week-long stage began on Thursday, and the second will start on Oct. 2.

Sujudi said the ministry could not take measures against errant workers. "With regional autonomy, it is local governments which have the authorization to act against those workers," he said. -- Antara