Many workers are anemic

SAMARINDA, East Kalimantan: About 65 percent of 211,961 workers here are anemic, a study conducted by the local office of the Ministry of Health revealed.

Antara quoted the office's spokesman Asli Amin as saying yesterday that the condition was caused by poor nutrition and poor eating habits. "Most of the workers don't understand the importance of iron for their health," Asli said.

The provincial administration plans to correct the situation by distributing a total of 32 million free iron tablets for the workers, he said.

Each worker will take a tablet per week for 16 weeks. Pregnant workers, however, will be required to take one tablet every day for 16 weeks.

"Hopefully, their health and productivity will then improve," Asli said. (swe)