Jakarta big flood begets thousands malnourished babies

Jakarta big flood begets thousands malnourished babies

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Her mother tried to cajole her, but the emaciated six-month-
old baby girl showed almost no response. She just lay quietly on
the floor -- too quiet for a baby of her age.

Rina, the baby, who only weighs six kilograms, is a victim of
the flood that paralyzed almost all parts of the city recently.

Along with her parents, she became an evacuee for over two
weeks when her home by the Ciliwung river in Kampung Melayu area,
East Jakarta, was submerged during the flood.

Her mother, Weni, acknowledged that she fed Rina with the same
food she ate as there was not sufficient food for the baby.

"I received milk for Rina once from a health post, but that
was it. I then gave Rina sweet tea since I was unable to produce
breast milk," she said.

She continues to feed her the same menu as she cannot afford
to buy nutritious food for her baby.

"Milk and baby cereal with milk is too expensive. We can't
afford that now; we lost almost everything during the flood,"
Weni told The Jakarta Post, adding that her daughter could
already eat food eaten by adults.

Before the flood, Weni, a seamstress, was able to give Rina
some nutritious food such as milk porridge, egg and sometimes
chicken. Since the flood damaged her sewing machine, she could no
longer earn additional income.

Weni and her husband, a car washer, have spent their remaining
money to repair their house which was damaged by the flood.

"It's not easy to feed her. Perhaps she is bored with the
menu," Weni said, saying that she usually fed her daughter rice,
instant noodles and tempeh.

Her neighborhood in the Kampung Melayu area, East Jakarta, was
inundated on Tuesday morning. The water level reached 50
centimeters. Her home, luckily, was not flooded.

Another baby victim, Didit, looked better than Rina but was
still malnourished. The four-month-old flood victim weighs five
kilograms although her mother, Supriyanti, feeds him with mashed
rice and gravy.

On Tuesday, Didit's lunch consisted of a ladle of mashed rice
plus several spoonfuls of gravy made from an instant noodle
sachet. Supriyanti looked happy when Didit finished his lunch.

"I know he should eat baby cereal but it's enough for him as
he always eats the food I make. Didit is a good boy," she told
the Post proudly, saying that her son was not sick during the
recent floods although many other babies were.

Supriyanti and her family live near Krukut river in Perniagaan
market area. They stayed in a shelter for more than two weeks
when the floods hit the area three weeks ago.

In the temporary shelter, Supriyanti fed Didit mashed rice
from a ready-to-eat package given by the subdistrict office as
there were no meals provided specially for babies.

After they returned home, Supriyanti continued to feed Didit
mashed rice or rice porridge. Before the floods, Supriyanti gave
him banana, milk porridge and breast milk.

"We don't have money to buy baby cereal any longer. The flood
swept away some of my housewares, furniture and food supplies,"
Supriyanti said.

After the floods, Supriyanti could no longer breast-feed Didit
as she was unable to produce breast milk.

Her husband, a contract worker, has started to work, though
the money he earned was not enough to feed the whole family. The
couple have two children, Didit and his four-year-old sister.

Up until now, they still rely on assistance from the
subdistrict office. The assistance consists of two kilograms of
rice, five packs of instant noodles and a small bottle of cooking
oil.

"Sometimes I give him rice porridge and soup gravy, as an
alternative. The most important thing is that Didit can eat three
times a day," she said, adding that she bought the soup if her
husband gave her some money.

Supriyati, an elementary school graduate, admitted that she
had no idea about nutrition.

"My son is fat enough; it means he is healthy," she said.

Rina and Didit are two flood victims among 20,000 other babies
across the city who are facing hunger due to the limited supply
of baby food provided for flood victims.

Data from the Mental Guidance and Social Affairs Agency
revealed that 20,000 of 26,000 babies were suffering from
malnutrition due to the recent flood.

Only 6,000 of them have received baby porridge with milk as
there is insufficient food for babies. Serious malnutrition could
harm the development of an infant's mind and body.

Following the recent floods, many babies are suffering from
diarrhea, which has claimed the lives of dozen of infants around
the city.

More than 380,000 people were affected by the worst flood in
the history of the city recently.