Thousands of toddlers go hungry in Malang

MALANG, East Java: At least 2,000 children here, mostly under five years old, are undernourished. Unless help comes as soon as possible, many of them may soon suffer from kwashiorkor marasmus -- severe malnutrition caused by a diet high in carbohydrates and low in protein -- and other hunger-related diseases.

Head of the Malang health office, Subagyo, told Antara on Thursday that 16 children were already affected by kwashiorkor, up from seven in April.

He also said the hunger problem now affected not only slum areas but other parts of Malang as well.

Reports of malnutrition throughout the country have steadily increased since the onset of the economic crisis in mid-1997. Only last week, for instance, it was reported that hundreds of children under the age of five in four subdistricts were undernourished, with 23 of them suffering from acute malnutrition.

It was reported from Semarang, Central Java, two weeks ago that at least 36 children under the age of five years in the province had died of malnutrition since September last year. A further 1,900 others were being treated at local hospitals for malnutrition. In addition, cases of malnutrition were found in all 35 regencies and mayoralties of the province.

In Grobogan village, some 45 kilometers east of Semarang, seven infants have died of kwashiorkor marasmus since January. (swe)