Refugee camp children suffer from malnutrition, lack of varied agony

Refugee camp children suffer from malnutrition, lack of varied agony

Beth Gardiner, Associated Press/Lamreh, Aceh

In a ramshackle refugee camp of destitute farmers and fishermen
in Aceh, hunger is rare these days. But so are protein,
vegetables and vitamins.

A month after the tsunami devastated Aceh province, aid
deliveries of rice, noodles and powdered milk have kept children
in the camp in Lamreh village looking healthy. But adults say
they badly need a more varied diet.

"We don't starve, but we don't get enough nutrition," said
Ani, 26.

A survey this month by the United Nations children's agency
found that one in eight children are malnourished in an area that
is the target of a huge international aid effort.

While no children are in danger of starving, UNICEF says 12.7
percent of those surveyed at camps in and around the provincial
capital of Banda Aceh suffer malnutrition, which stunts growth,
retards mental development and weakens the immune system.

In a draft report reviewed by The Associated Press and
scheduled for release next week, UNICEF calls the situation a
"critical emergency" requiring immediate intervention, and warns
that conditions could be even worse farther outside the
provincial capital.

In the Lamreh camp, about an hour's drive from Banda Aceh, 32
families have been getting by on aid from foreign agencies and
the government since the Dec. 26 tsunami robbed survivors of
their livelihoods by wrecking fishing boats and poisoning
agricultural fields with salt.

"Even if there was somewhere to buy food, we don't have the
money," said Ani.

Aid groups including the United Nations' World Food Program
have been shifting in recent weeks from delivering only emergency
rations like rice and noodles to providing more varied fare that
includes protein and vitamins.

The UNICEF survey and interviews in the Lamreh camp suggest
that effort has yet to reach many children.

Ali Mokdad, a U.S. researcher who headed the UNICEF survey,
said delays in some shipments immediately after the killer waves
hit had forced youngsters to live off basic rations at first.

Most children now had a more well-rounded diet, he said, but
about 12.7 percent of those surveyed were not getting enough
protein and other key nutrients.

The survey of 614 boys and girls aged 6 months to 5 years, in
19 settlements, covered only the area around Banda Aceh, where
food and other aid shipments have been plentiful.

However, on Sumatra's remote west coast, malnutrition is
likely far worse because damaged roads, bridges and ports have
posed major logistical problems for deliveries, Mokdad said.

He said the prevalence of diarrhea, vomiting and fever among
displaced children also raised concerns, because ill youngsters
are more likely to suffer malnutrition than healthy ones. About
half of those examined complained of diarrhea and fever in the
previous two weeks, and about a third had vomited, he said.

"It's a scary finding. Quite honestly, unless we improve water
and sanitation in the camps where these children are staying,
it's going to get worse," said Mokdad, who is chief of behavioral
surveillance at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.

UNICEF officials said they had discussed their findings with
Indonesia's health ministry, and were coordinating with other UN
agencies to distribute emergency supplements like bananas and
porridge.

Increased shipments of canned fish and meat, sugar, cooking
oil and fruits and vegetables to the Banda Aceh camps were making
a difference in the province, where about 4 million people live,
about 3 percent, or 120,000 of them children younger than five,
Mokdad said.

Other areas are not so fortunate.

Dr. Epi, an Indonesian military medic, said many children in
the devastated western city of Calang had dry skin and hair and
pale lips -- signs they were underfed.

They should be eating meat, fresh fish and vitamin tablets, he
said, but those are scarce in Calang. Most subsist on rice,
crackers and uncooked noodles.

In the Lamreh camp, conditions weren't so grim. Barefoot
children playing near flimsy shelters made of sticks and
corrugated metal appeared healthy and clean.

Still, food deliveries at times have been irregular.

Jufri, a 35-year-old who was pounding wood into the ground to
build a hut, said local officials favored their friends when
distributing rations, leaving him at a disadvantage because he
came from another part of Aceh and had few connections in Lamreh.

Sakdiah, 70, said deliveries were enough to keep camp
residents going for now but that she was uncertain about the
future.

"I'm afraid the supplies won't continue because we are far
from the city," she said. "Don't forget about us."

(Associated Press writer Irwan Firdaus contributed to this report
from Calang.)

GetAP 1.00 -- JAN 29, 2005 07:11:42