Cases of malnourished children are reported by the national media every year, even after the Reform era.
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Kompas/Wisnu Widiantoro
Agats Puskesmas staff doing a sweeping check on mothers and children by visiting the houses of the residents in Ewer village, Bisman district, Asmat regency, Papua, Tuesday (16/1). Other than giving additional food, they also give measles vaccines to children that have not been vaccinated.
Up to 63 children have died from malnutrition and measles in Asmat regency, Papua. It is heartbreaking to see that such a humanitarian tragedy still happens.
Cases of malnourished children are reported by the national media every year, even after the Reform era. Over the last 10 years, malnutrition cases have occurred not only in inaccessible regions like Papua, but also in other regions across the archipelago.
For example, in 2005, the famine that hit Yahukimo Regency, Papua, was widely reported in the media. Even though the government tried to downplay the incident at the time, the reality was that 55 people died and 112 others suffered from malnutrition, many of them children.
We know that many remote regions in Indonesia are difficult to access, even on Java. In the district of Pongkor in Bogor regency, West Java, for example, there are still residents who must walk more than an hour to reach the local puskesmas (community health center).
As for Papua, to reach Lolat village in Yahukimo from Wamena, people back then had to walk for seven across the hills. When the weather was good, helicopters were able to land. Such is the case with the kampungs that have been hit by famine and measles today. From Agats, the capital of Asmat regency, it takes three hours by speedboat on the river.
However, poor infrastructure should not be a reason for the existence of these victims, because malnutrition is not a disaster that emerges suddenly. Malnutrition from not enough food develops over a prolonged period of time and is predictable. Moreover, the government monitors malnutrition on an annual basis.
The 2016 results of Nutrition Status Monitoring shows that 17.8 percent of under-5 children suffer from malnutrition. Of that figure, 12.1 percent are classified as small children that could develop stunted growth without intervention. From among the 34 provinces and 514 regencies/cities that were monitored, no province was found to be free from acute malnutrition, with the worse cases found in eastern Indonesia.
The same is true with immunization coverage. Health Ministry data show that the basic immunization coverage reached 86.8 percent in 2015-2016. As we understand it, unimmunized infants and children are at risk of infection and of infecting others. These children who have missed out on immunization must be taken care of immediately.
In this situation, the government actually has a database on regions with malnutrition and others with low immunization coverage. The question, then, is: Has the work been done to resolve these problems? It is not only malnutrition and measles, but in reality, extraordinary diphtheria outbreaks also occur nearly every year.
It is true that the division of authority has been implemented through regional autonomy, including in education, health and food. However, it remains the duty of the central government to monitor, check and, if necessary, hand down sanctions against those regional governments that have neglected the welfare of their people. Whether Asmat, Aceh or Serang, the people are all Indonesian citizens who have the same rights.
It is unfortunate that President Joko Widodo’s love for the land and people of Papua has not “infected” his subordinates in the Cabinet and in the regions. People are still suffering in the country’s remote areas.
