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Malnutrition, pneumonia kill toddler in Makassar
Two-year-old Dea Adelia of Jl
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Two-year-old Dea Adelia of Jl. Monumen Emmy Saelan died here Saturday morning after being treated for malnutrition at Labuang Baji hospital's intensive care unit for three nights.
Head of Makassar Municipal Health Agency, Naisyah Tun Azikin, confirmed Saturday that Dea suffered from malnutrition, but it was not the main cause of her death.
When admitted to the hospital Wednesday night, she said, Dea was in a critical condition with a high fever, respiratory problems and acute pneumonia.
"The doctors tried to do their best to save her life but she was too ill to cure," Naisyah said.
Dea's mother, Nur Fadillah, said her second daughter had suffered from a fever since last month, but she could not afford to take her to the hospital.
She said her husband was a substitute driver who worked between three and four days a week with an income of Rp 10,000 (US 90 cents) to Rp 30,000 each working day.
"It was only after an in-law lent us Rp 100,000 that I could finally take her to the hospital," the 20-year-old mother said, crying.
She said the hospital asked her to pay Rp 75,000 to admit Dea. When Dea died, however, she was not allowed to take the body home for burial before paying for the Rp 478,000 bill.
"Having only Rp 200,000 in my hand, I gave them the two gold rings I inherited from my mother as collateral," Nur added.
Naisyah said Dea's body was never held by the hospital. It just required the family to fulfill the administrative requirement.
The South Sulawesi provincial government has launched a free medical treatment program for poor families.
Families are only required to show their health insurance cards provided by the government for the poor or ID and family cards.
"They failed to show either an ID or family card. So, the hospital asked them to seek a letter from the village administration that could confirm they were indeed Makassar residents," Naisyah said.
Naisyah said the hospital actually asked the family earlier to seek the required documents from the village administration office. The letter, however, was never submitted, he added.
"So, the hospital asked for collateral. When the required letter was finally submitted, both the rings and the money given to the hospital were returned to them."
Naisyah said a three-month intervention of additional food provision through Puskesmas (Community Health Center) Kassi-Kassi helped Dea recover from malnutrition last year.
"The last time she visited the service post was in September. She was in a good condition. We didn't know it was worsening because she didn't show up last month," Fatma Yusuf of Puskesmas Kassi-Kassi said.
Dea is the second baby reported to have died from malnutrition in Makassar in the last four months. The last case was reported in July.
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