Pregnant mothers, toddlers to get food program
JAKARTA (JP): The government is fighting the looming threat of widespread malnutrition by launching a Rp 1.37 trillion (US$114 million) supplementary food program for pregnant women and children under five years old, Minister of Health Farid Anfasa Moeloek said on Wednesday.
The minister said the one year program, starting next month, will cover at least 140 regencies throughout the country.
"With the government subsidy, we hope the problem of malnutrition will not become prolonged," Farid said after meeting with President B.J. Habibie at the Merdeka Palace.
The minister said the funds would be channeled directly to community health centers because they had direct access to the neediest people.
"Each family will receive Rp 10,000 per year," he remarked.
The International Labour Organization defines people living under the poverty line as those who consume less than 2,200 calories a day and who have daily earnings of not more than 55 U.S. cents in urban areas and 40 U.S. cents in rural areas.
Per capita income in Indonesia was about US$1,100 before the economic crisis hit the country in July last year. The current per capita income is estimated at below $300.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has provided Rp 1.05 trillion to cover 19 provinces, while the program will be funded in the remaining eight provinces by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
"We are still making preparations," Farid replied when asked about the details of the program.
Stephen J. Woodhouse, the country representative for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), recently criticized the IMF and ADB programs.
The two bodies intend to send aid directly to district and sub-district clinics, but the clinics are incapable of handling the money, he said.
"The provinces worst affected (by malnutrition) are Central and East Java. It is very worrying," the minister remarked.
East Java, with a total population of about 33.9 million, is the country's most densely populated province. It is followed by Central Java, which has a population of 24 million.
According to Sulaeman, the director of the state-run Dr. Kariadi Hospital in Semarang, malnutrition threatens eight million infants in Central Java.
No official figures are available for the situation in East Java.
Farid said he had recommended to the President on Wednesday that the country import raw materials to manufacture medicine from India, where he said the prices were half current international prices.
The President ordered him to explore the possibility of cooperating with Indian pharmaceutical companies, both to import their products and to encourage them to invest directly in the country.
"We will study the possibility," he said. (prb)