Malnutrition a threat to Central Java kids

Malnutrition a threat to Central Java kids

SEMARANG (JP): Nutritional deficiencies could jeopardize the
health of eight million infants in Central Java, a hospital
administrator warned on Tuesday.

"If the economy continues like this, more and more parents
will not be able to meet their children's nutritional needs,"
said Sulaeman, the director of the Dr. Kariadi General Hospital
in this provincial capital.

Four infants are hospitalized for nutritional deficiencies at
his hospital, he said, adding "I'm sure there are many more" at
other hospitals or whose parents had yet to seek medical
attention or were unable to do so. Children receiving treatment
at Kariadi are getting better, he said, because they were
admitted in the early stages of their disorder.

In data compiled last year, Central Java's 4.16 million poor
-- 13.91 percent of its population -- was the highest in the
nation.

"We hope that during the crisis no children will be treated
for kwashiorkor," Sulaeman said, referring to the condition
caused by a high carbohydrate, low protein diet. "That would be
very dangerous because organs are already damaged in such a
condition."

Dr. Soetomo Hospital in Surabaya, East Java, has reportedly
admitted one two-year-old suffering from kwashiorkor.

Stephen J. Woodhouse, the United Nations Children's Fund
(Unicef) representative for Indonesia and Malaysia, said on
Monday that the Surabaya case was only the tip of the iceberg.

He was quoted by Kompas daily as saying most in danger were
fetuses, newborns and infants up to two years old. Ninety percent
of human brain cells develop during this crucial period, he
added. Woodhouse had said in April that Unicef data revealed
eight million infants under five were already seriously
malnourished across the country.

Unicef cited research conducted over two years by Helen Keller
International up to June this year which found the number of
malnourished children in Java was tenfold that of other islands.

The study found the number of underweight infants under 35
months in Central Java rose from 8 percent in 1996 to 14 percent
this year.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) has predicted that
the economic crisis could lead to 95.8 million people -- about 48
percent of the total population of 202 million -- living below
the poverty line by year's end.

ILO defines the poverty line in daily calorie consumption as
2,200 calories. It measures it in daily earnings of US$1 in urban
areas, and 80 U.S. cents in rural areas at a conversion rate of
Rp 2,300 to the dollar.

On Tuesday, Coordinating Minister for Social Welfare and
Poverty Eradication Haryono Suyono said the State Logistics
Agency had allocated 2.8 tons of rice for 7.3 million poor
families.

Meanwhile, the Palangkaraya mayoralty in Central Kalimantan
has listed 2,681 families newly categorized as living below the
official poverty line. As of 1996 the Central Bureau of
Statistics classified the poverty line for Central Kalimantan as
monthly per capita income of Rp 36,997 in rural areas and Rp
47,507 in urban areas.

The head of the local information office, Sudaryanto, said
Saturday as reported by Antara that the affected families were
spread across two districts, Bukit Batu and Pahandut, which both
had 21 subdistricts. Palangkaraya was previously listed as an
area free of families living under the poverty line.

The local administration is planning subsidized sales of rice
on Sept. 28, in which each family will be able to buy 10
kilograms of the food staple for Rp 1,000 per kg, he said.

The administration will deliver the rice by boat to the more
remote subdistricts, Sudaryanto added. (har/01/anr)