Thousands of Jakarta tots malnourished

Thousands of Jakarta tots malnourished

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

At least 8,455 children under five in Jakarta are suffering from
malnutrition, the City Health Agency reported on Friday.

The high number of cases, for what is one of the wealthiest
regions in the country, represents almost 1 percent of the total
number of children under five years old estimated to live in the
municipality, which the agency puts at 923,000.

Observers said the malnutrition cases were a slap in the face
to the city administration, which has a mammoth budget of Rp
14.01 trillion (US$1.45 billion) this year for the provision of
local services, including health.

"Out of the malnourished toddlers, seven are in dire need of
intensive treatment ... (and) three of them must be hospitalized
for at least 90 days," agency head Abdul Chalik Masulili said at
City Hall.

Two of the sickest children were now being treated at the
Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in Central Jakarta, while the other
was receiving care at the Fatmawati Hospital in South Jakarta,
Masulili said.

The remaining four infants could be treated at home since no
complications were involved, he added.

Agency spokeswoman Zelvyno said the malnourished children were
mostly from slum areas.

According to the Jakarta office of the Central Statistics
Agency (BPS Jakarta), some 680 community units out of a total of
2,657 are categorized as slum areas.

In its 2002 report, the agency counted 291,324 poor families
in the capital.

Zelvyno said the agency would intensify its activities to give
nutritious food to children on a monthly basis at 3,941
integrated community health posts (Posyandu) across the city.

Each post usually serves between 100 and 150 babies.

The agency has allocated Rp 10,000 per child per month for
nutritious snacks.

The administration has also allocated monthly payments of Rp
25,000 for meals and Rp 35,000 for hospital treatment for
malnourished children, who needed intensive care.

Some residents have complained that the implementation of the
program was poorly monitored by the administration and said many
of the funds did not go to the people who needed it most.

"Some posts have apparently failed to carry out the program,
as the implementation of the program depends on how active the
neighborhood unit heads were," said Ony, 35, a resident of
Cempaka Putih, Central Jakarta.

The father of a five-year-old girl said his neighborhood unit
head had never informed him about the program.

Another resident, Linda, 30, complained that her health post
in Pasar Rebo, East Jakarta, only provided a cup of mung bean
porridge for each infant.

"I heard that in some other places, a baby could enjoy much
more, like a glass of milk and a bowl of spinach soup plus fried
chicken as a side dish," she said.

Governor Sutiyoso emphasized his administration would improve
the distribution of nutritious food to all children in need.

"I am sure that we can handle this, thanks to the massive
budget we have," Sutiyoso said.