Priandono, Jakarta - About 40 million Indonesian people go hungry, according to Bishow B. Parajuli, Deputy Country Director of the United Nation World Food Program.

He went on to explain that the 40 million people account for 17 percent of the Indonesian population.

"Actually the food supply in Indonesia is sufficient, but people do not have enough money to buy food," Bishow told Tempo News Room, during the Accelerating People's Nutrition Improvement coordinating meeting held in Jakarta on Monday.

A speaker from the Ministry of Health also said that about 100 million of Indonesian people suffer from anemia because of malnutrition.

Dr.Ir. Taufik Hanafi from the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) said: "Indonesia is 102nd out of the total of 162 countries, based on the Human Development Index (HDI)." HDI is a composite index of three variables: education, life expectancy/health and income.

Hanafi went on to explain that Indonesia is 38th based on Human Poverty Index, indicating low rank of life expectancy (40 years), illiteracy, poor access to safe water, poor health care, and malnutrition among children.