January 20, 2010
Malnutrition: From Provincial to National Problems
Indonesia, a Southeast Asian country, is well known for its rich natural resources. There are various kinds of natural resources found in Indonesia such as oil, gold, timber as well as natural resources for food. On the contrary, in many areas of the country there are a high number of children who have inadequate nutrition. According to the World Bank, there are more than ten million children under-five years old suffered from malnutrition. A recent case was found in East Nusa Tenggara that a one-year-old child weighed only one kilogram while a newly born baby would normally weighted three kilograms. These mean that the former child has a serious malnutrition problem which reflects the extent of the problems that the province is facing.
Malnutrition is not only affecting the individual’s health condition, but it is also reducing the community’s abilities to work and continue their education which could make them stay longer in poverty. This ironic condition shows that there is something wrong with healthcare and remote area services such as East Nusa Tenggara.
If we look back at Soeharto’s era, there were a high number of developments in this country in many sectors. These developments were mainly focus on Java and not enough development to other areas. Consequently, there was an economic gap between these areas and the advantages of development could not be enjoyed for most Indonesian people. Currently, the government has improved development activities in many parts of Indonesia and has become more aware of the needs for well trained nutritionist. However, development activities would not be effective if people did not want to participate in the provision of a better healthcare service especially in remote areas. The people could contribute by doing health awareness campaigns to voluntary help people in need or being involved in any other activities that would make Indonesian people to be part of these campaigns. People’s participation is not only important and badly needed to make development activities more effective but also to accelerate development even faster.
Due to the extent of the problems, we must see them as a national issue rather than a mainly provincial issue. By understanding the issue in such a way, this would improve our empathy and encourage people to work together as a nation to solve this problem. The participation of the government and people to create better health infrastructure and services in remote areas such as East Nusa Tenggara would be invaluable contribution for the people in the areas.
