Severe malnutrition

Severe malnutrition

The recent cases of marasmus kwarsiorkor (severe malnutrition)
in the rice-exporting province of West Nusa Tenggara has stunned
everybody in the country, (The Jakarta Post, May 27). Such cases
are not the monopoly of this province, as similar problems have
been detected in East Nusa Tenggara, though there were no
fatalities.

More and more cases are being found in almost every province,
with the latest being found in the western and eastern-most
provinces of Aceh and Papua, where toddlers have died of severe
malnutrition (Post, June 13).

This would not have happened if communication between regional
governments and the central government, and between legislators
and their constituents, was more effective. The central
government (minister of health) has blamed local governments for
failing to extend enough state funds to the poor, as regional
autonomy has left the central government no longer able to
supervise and direct the allocation of the funds (Post, June 7).

Meanwhile, members of the House of Representatives, who should
be representing their constituents, seem to be losing contact, or
quite probably never established contact in the first place with
the people they are supposed to represent. So what have they been
doing since their inauguration in September last year? Well, they
recently demanded a raise of Rp 15 million over the Rp 25 million
they already take home each month not to mention bonuses (Rakyat
Merdeka, June 6).

What should be done now is not to find culprits but rather
focusing on eliminating malnutrition from this resource-rich
country. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's idea of reviving
the old integrated health services posts and other social welfare
programs needs our support. Establishing a welfare society is one
of the items on his Cabinet's agenda.

M. RUSDI
Jakarta