Malnutrion cases abound in Ambon's IDP shelters

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.