Malnutrion cases abound in Ambon's IDP shelters

M. Azis Tunny, The Jakarta Post, Ambon

The life of refugees in several camps in Ambon city here is deteriorating. Bad sanitation has affected the health of the refugees, especially the children. Meanwhile, malnutrition is also commonplace in the camps as the refugees cannot afford to buy nutritious food for their children.

One among those refugee camps is a refugee camp in the complex of Ambon's People's Amusement Park in Waihaong subdistrict, Ambon city. The refugee camps houses 159 infants, 25 of whom are suffering from malnutrition. It is very apparent that they are suffering from malnutrition as their weight is far below normal.

One-year-old Harun, is one example. He is thin, but his stomach is bloated. All his bones are visible. He weighs only four-and-a-half kilograms, far below the normal weight of between nine and 10 kilograms.

His father La Ata, 40, is a pedicab driver who has to feed a wife, Wa Amra, 35, and his four children. The family, which came from Buton island, fled to the Waihaong refugee camp from their home in Wainitu area after sectarian conflict in 1999.

The refugee camp currently accommodates 575 families. A small cabin that is two-and-a-half meters square houses a family of between four to seven people. The cabin functions as a living room, dining room and bedroom.

Most of the families in the refugee camp share the same problems as Harun. On top of the malnutrition problem, the camp also faces the problem of clogged drains, leading to the spread of skin related diseases, diarrhea and respiratory diseases.

Amra said that it was very difficult to ask Harun to eat. "I want to bring him to the doctor but I have no money. My husband's income is only enough for our daily meals," said Amra.

Amra has been encouraged by her neighbors to bring the infant to an integrated health service post (Posyandu), but she refused. She said that she was too embarrassed seeing her boy looking so unhealthy that she decided not to bring him to the Posyandu.

Chief of Waihaong Community Health Center, Wendy Pattisahusiwa, said that malnutrition was prevalent in the refugee camp due to parents' lack of awareness of child health.

In order to address the problem, Wendy said that the health center officials would conduct random examinations of infants in Waihaong subdistrict. Every malnourished child would receive intensive medical treatment, said Wendy. "We have done the random check several times, but when our officials went door to door, some parents responded negatively by closing their doors," said Wendy.

The community health center has also provided additional nutritious food for infants and children in the subdistrict, such as milk and biscuits. "But some mothers returned the milk and biscuits saying their children refused it," said Wendy.

Wendy said that she would hold a campaign in order to raise people's awareness of the importance of nutritious food for their children.