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.