Malnutrition rate soars since economic crisis

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Ubud, Bali

The malnutrition rate in the country has reached alarming levels since the economic crisis, sending a signal to the government to pay more attention to the issue. The infant mortality rate is currently two infants per minute in the country.

Head of the Department of Health Clinical Nutrition? Unit Yustina Indriastuti revealed on Monday that in 1989 there were 1,342,769 reported cases of malnutrition in a total population of 177,614,965 people. The number was slightly higher in 2000, reaching 1,348,181 cases of a total population of 203,456,005 people.

However, the number of toddlers suffering from malnutrition skyrocketed in 2002 to 5,145,533 toddlers, or 27.3 percent of the country's toddlers at that time, according to the Information Network on Food and Nutrition (JPIG), an internal bulletin of the Department of Health.

The much higher rate of malnutrition was attributed to the increased poverty rate in Indonesia following the economic crisis that struck the country in 1997.

A senior lecturer at the University of Indonesia's Nutrition Department Lanny Lestiani confirmed that poverty was one of the primary causes of malnutrition in the country.

"The eradication of poverty is a vital step in the process of improving the nutrition of the country's toddlers," she said.

JIPG data shows that some 38.4 million people in Indonesia are currently living below the poverty line and some 50 percent of them cannot meet the recommended daily intake of nutrition and food. Indonesia ranks 110 on the Human Development Index, below neighboring Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and even Vietnam.

Besides poverty, low awareness, especially of city dwellers, is also often identified as a cause of malnutrition.

"Busy and hectic lifestyles have apparently made many people forget the importance of a well-balanced, diet," Yustina told participants of the Bion 3 Destination Immunity event.

Held in Ubud, the two-day gathering, which was sponsored by PT Merck-Indonesia, the maker of Bion 3, a health supplement product combining pro-biotic nutrients, vitamins and minerals, involved dozens of journalists and nutrition experts.

Many at the gathering have called on the government to take the measures necessary to improve the well-being of society, so that it can help prevent malnutrition.

This step is important because malnutrition, along with infectious diseases, has contributed to the high infant mortality rate in the country.

Indonesia must allocate at least Rp 4.6 trillion per year to offset the impact of malnutrition by providing treatment and supplemental food programs focused at toddlers from poor families.