Public Health Office: 18 children who were victims of violence and neglect at a Yogyakarta daycare suffer malnutrition

From 149 children undergoing growth screening, 18 children were found to have nutrition problems at the underweight and malnutrition stages. Yogyakarta (ANTARA) - The Yogyakarta City Government has conducted growth and development screenings for children who were victims of violence and neglect at Daycare Little Aresha Sorosutan, and found 18 children with nutritional problems. ‘From the 149 children who underwent growth screening, 18 were found to have nutrition problems at the stages of underweight and malnutrition,’ said Aan Iswanti, Head of the Public Health Section of the Yogyakarta Health Office (Dinkes), in Yogyakarta on Tuesday. He said that the 18 children in an initial stage of malnutrition should be intervened at the local public health centre (puskesmas). Growth screening for daycare participants was conducted by Dinkes Yogyakarta, together with puskesmas, UPT Pemberdayaan dan Perlindungan Anak (PPA), and the Department of Women’s Empowerment, Child Protection, Population Control and Family Planning (DP3AP2KB) Yogyakarta. In addition to growth, he said, development screening for daycare victims’ children is also conducted by the Yogyakarta City Government as an early monitoring effort of health and overall growth and development of the children. He stated that development screening for children is conducted by clinical psychologists to ensure the development of toddlers is in line with their age based on the SDIDTK (Stimulation, Detection, and Early Intervention of Growth and Development) guidelines. ‘The interventions are 12 children and 19 children were referred and follow-up visits to the puskesmas for comprehensive development examinations. And nine children have already been to the puskesmas,’ said Aan Iswanti.