Nation's children go hungry

Nation's children go hungry

Although in many parts of the country the dry season is still
in its early stages, the danger of hunger, malnutrition and
famine -- the government officials often use different terms to
either dramatize or play down the severity of the problem -- has
begun to haunt the country again. In West Nusa Tenggara alone, a
province which for years had prided itself as a rice "exporter"
to other provinces, seven out of 51 children died of severe
malnutrition in the last five months. Six of the children died in
a hospital in the provincial capital city Mataram.

Pictures of starving children in the province, which according
to a national media group has reached the level of marasmus
kwarsiorkor (severe famine), appeared on TV screens and
newspapers on Thursday reminiscent of scenes in Africa some time
ago, although the situation in the continent is of course much
much worse. Nevertheless, reports on malnutrition and poor health
protection for children are common.

In East Nusa Tenggara the situation is no better although
there have been no fatalities. In the province, about 902,000
people are suffering from food shortages, or nearly one-quarter
of the province's total population.

It is true that until the economic crisis hit the country in
1997, news of famine or malnutrition was seldom heard, either was
because the country's economy was still quite good or because the
government could easily prohibit the media from publishing news
of food shortages which the government regarded as an
embarrassment. At that time the presence of posyandu (integrated
health service posts) which could reach up to the RT
(neighborhood unit) level was quite effective for monitoring
children's health. After the crisis the centers were practically
no longer operational. As shown by the rising cases of polio in
West Java, the absence of the centers along with the government's
inability to provide health services, have played a crucial role
in the outbreak.

Since then also, reports on food shortages, low purchasing
power and even starvation, worsening health facilities for
children and poor sanitation, have from time to time appeared
especially during the dry season. The government has also tried
hard to mitigate the problems caused by famine or food shortages
by providing cheap rice or by opening labor-intensive projects in
the needy areas.

The government also has a list of vulnerable areas throughout
the country. The comment of Coordinating Minister for People's
Welfare Alwi Shihab on food shortages in East Nusa Tenggara two
months ago, however, also reflects the attitude of many officials
who try to play down, if not attempt to cover up the malnutrition
problem. They think negative reports will tarnish their image.

The question is which is more important: to protect the
officials' image or to save the lives of starving children?

The country's economy is still in the recovery stage, and it
will have a direct impact on nutritional problems. According to
the Central Statistics Bureau (BPS), the country's poverty rate
stood at 16.4 percent of the country's 220 million people. Open
unemployment reached about 10 percent of the workforce, or about
10.3 million people. It means that even if the government has a
an adequate food supply it also has the problem of distribution
to remote areas. Also even if food is available in the market,
people's purchasing power is very low.

We must remember, however, that all of us share the
responsibility to prevent famine or malnutrition especially among
children. Perhaps we do not realize that there are children who
live near us who are suffering from malnutrition. Perhaps we are
aware of it, but we think it is not our business. The private
sector also has a moral responsibility to help those in trouble,
because how can we expect a better future generation when we do
not help the victims of poverty?

As the food shortage is not a new issue, the government should
have more than enough experience in handling such a disaster.
Early measures to prevent a tragedy from occurring will be more
effective rather than delivering assistance after more children
fall victim to the effects of famine.