Over 100 infants undernourished

Over 100 infants undernourished

YOGYAKARTA: More than 100 infants here aged under five years
have been found in the past four months to suffer from
malnutrition, 36 of them needing intensive treatment, an official
said on Thursday.

Head of provincial health office Mochamad Harsono said the
malnourished children had been admitted to hospitals. The
government will pay their medical fees with money allocated from
the state budget for the social safety net program.

"We expect the number will increase because many more cases
may not have been detected," Harsono said, adding that the search
for malnourished infants was still underway.

He said most of the children came from families who had been
affected by the economic turmoil. "Many of the families can no
longer make a living after losing their jobs," he said.

The provincial administration has dispatched aid packages to
the malnourished babies. Each package includes 60 kilograms of
rice, a box of instant noodles and ketchup. (44)