Hundreds of children malnourished
The Jakarta Post | Thu, 01/27/2011 11:28 AM
TANGERANG: Thousands of poor children under 5 years of age in Tangerang and South Tangerang are suffering from malnutrition.
The number of malnourished under-5 year olds in the area has risen to 2,396 this month from 2,199 in August last year, data at the Tangerang regency Health Agency showed.
Poverty and poor parenting among young parents are the principle causes of the problem, Health agency head Naniek Isnaini said Wednesday.
“The health agency allocates Rp 3.5 billion this year to reduce malnutrition, which is a decrease from last year’s budget allocation of Rp 4 billion,” Naniek said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.
It was reported that there were 271 5-year-olds who were malnourished in South Tangerang last year, and 4,468 who were underweight. — JP
