Not food aid swindle

Not food aid swindle

I urge all those who read the misleading article NGO blows
whistle on food aid swindle in The Jakarta Post of May 31, 1999
edition to consider the following facts.

A recent study conducted by Helen Keller International with
funding from Unicef found that, in poor slum areas of Semarang,
Surabaya, Ujungpandang and Jakarta, between 19 percent and 29
percent of children less than two years of age were severely
underweight. Prior to the crisis, the average prevalence of
severe malnutrition in Indonesian children under five years of
age was 4.2 percent, ranging from 1.7 percent in Yogyakarta and
Bali, to 15.4 percent in Aceh (SUSENAS, 1998). These credible
data show that the prevalence of severe malnutrition in poor
urban slum areas of major cities is appallingly high and calls
for immediate measures to protect these children's futures.
Crisis or no crisis, children have a right to good nutrition.

In the short term, food aid is the most appropriate and
effective intervention to prevent severe malnutrition and should
be provided with urgency, especially in poor urban areas which
are among the "hardest hit" because of the crisis. The decision
of the government of Indonesia to expand coverage of food aid
programs to include the urban poor is a sound decision.

The extent to which the crisis has worsened malnutrition in
Indonesia has not been exaggerated. The seriousness of the
nutrition crisis has been under-recognized and not enough has
been done to protect innocent children.

Unicef urges the global community to recapitalize the human
potential of Indonesia, not just the banks. Top priority should
be given to provision of food fortified with vitamins and
minerals for pregnant women and children under two years of age.
Failure to do so will deprive children of basic human rights and
will cripple children's ability to live healthy lives, to get the
most out of the learning opportunities of school, and to
contribute maximally to society later in life.

STEPHEN J. WOODHOUSE

Representative

Unicef Indonesia & Malaysia

Jakarta