http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20070426.@01&irec=0
April 27, 2007
13m infants seriously malnourished: WFP
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A total of 13 million children under the age of five in Indonesia suffer
from chronic malnutrition, says the United Nations World Food Program
(WFP).
The WFP says the country produces enough food to feed the entire
population but does not have the infrastructure in place to distribute
it.
"There's enough food, but the problem is getting it to those who need
it," WFP deputy country director Bradley Busetto said here Wednesday.
Almost half of the nation's 28 million children suffer from chronic
malnutrition, according to statistics from last year.
Of children under the age of five living in rural areas, 30.2 percent
are underweight and 47.5 percent are under the average height.
Meanwhile, of children under the age of five living in cities, 24.5
percent are underweight and 37.3 percent are under average height.
WFP unit head for vulnerability analysis and mapping, monitoring and
evaluation Dipayan Bhattacharyya said that anemia occurred in half of
the children under five years old suffering chronic malnutrition, and
one-third of primary school-age children between 6 and 12, and in more
than half of the country's pregnant women.
"That's why the major indicator for our program is reduction of anemia
occurrences," he said.
The WFP's programs, which include school feeding and nutritional
rehabilitation activities, are targeting the groups most vulnerable to
malnutrition: primary school-age children and those under five years
old, as well as pregnant women in integrated service stations for pre-
and post-natal health care (Posyandu).
"The WFP is reaching 1.5 million children in primary schools and
Posyandu across Indonesia, in Aceh, Greater Jakarta and East Java, as
well as in West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara in the eastern part
of Indonesia," Busetto said.
Of the 854 million people suffering from chronic hunger worldwide, more
than 400 million are children, according to 2006 data from the WFP.
Every five seconds a child dies of hunger somewhere in the world -- 720
deaths an hour.
"We are now focusing on the eastern part of Indonesia, especially the
rural areas in (East Nusa Tenggara) and (West Nusa Tenggara)," said
Busetto, adding that 40 to 50 percent of children in both provinces
experienced chronic malnutrition.
"Besides giving food aid, the WFP is also seeing the importance of
long-term solutions, such as nutrition education and related issues like
building clean water and sanitation infrastructure in places like (West
Nusa Tenggara)," Busetto said.
"We realize the complexity of the malnutrition problem. So, for a more
sustainable result, we aim to work well with the government and NGOs, as
well the private sector," he added.
He said that his office was currently operating at 65 percent of its
capacity because of budget constraints in Indonesia, while adding that
the WFP still faces a shortage of about US$10 million for its operations
throughout the archipelago.
"The private sector can help in many ways, with nutritious new products
that are affordable, and helping out in just raising awareness, since
they have better marketing than we do," he said.
He added: "All our food is locally produced from suppliers in Indonesia.
So that helps to have a way in which to make things more sustainable."
He said the WFP's special nutrition biscuits and noodles, which were
manufactured by local food producers, contained nine essential vitamins
and six minerals.(07)
--
Atheist n A person to be pitied in that he is
unable to believe things for which there is
no evidence, and who has thus deprived himself of
a convenient means of feeling superior to others.
—Chaz Bufe, The American Heretic’s Dictionary
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