Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – East Nusa Tenggara provincial administration has accused the central government of neglecting a help plea to address chronic malnutrition in the area.
The administration reportedly submitted an aid fund proposal for Rp 50.4 billion (US$5.5 million) to the Coordinating Ministry for People's Welfare in April, but had yet to receive a response.
The money is needed to feed tens of thousands of children suffering malnutrition in the province
The current death toll from acute malnutrition has reached 26 (children) since the administration suspended the provision of food aid in January.
Limited funding was a pressing issue because the number of children and toddlers requiring immediate medical attention had reached 90,000, Provincial health agency officer Maksi Taopan told the media Tuesday, while the province had only Rp 7 billion to allocate between its 20 regencies and mayoralties.
"The governor sent a letter to the minister for backup funds in April but has not yet received a reply," Taopan said.
"We don't know why the central government has not responded to the request, but more people are likely to die if the issue is not resolved immediately."
The local administration were banking on the immediate disbursement of aid funds to revive the existing food aid program, Taopan said.
"Based on the program, food supplements are provided every three, six and nine months," Taopan said.
The funding delay, he said, had an immediate impact on the running of posyandu (integrated health posts). In Kupang regency and mayoralty, he said, most posyandu workers had suspended their activities because of the limited operational funds.
"Kupang regency administration has set aside only Rp 33 million to deal with malnutrition, despite the fact that the regency is home to some 7,500 malnourished children," Taopan said.
The region had recently suffered severe crop failures, Taopan said, and as many as 1 million people were now facing food shortages.
So far, the administration has recorded 105 cases of malnourished children with clinical disorders (marasmus and kwashiorkor), 12,673 cases without clinical disorders and 72,073 who were undernourished.
The province was in deficit of 110,000 tons of rice, Provincial food resilience agency head Petrus Muga said, however denied it was a factor in the rising number of cases of malnutrition.
"The provincial logistics agency will replenish the shortage. The deficit was caused by a drop in production due to excessive rainfalls, long droughts and pests," Muga said.
He urged the community to replace their staple diet with alternative foods such as corn, tubers and nuts.