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More Than 39,000 Indonesian Children Suffer From Malnutrition

by VR Sreeraman on Nov 25 2008 12:54 PM

Tens of thousands of children on a remote island chain in eastern Indonesia are not getting proper nutrition, a report said Monday.

At least 39,080 children in the province of West Nusa Tenggara suffer from malnutrition, local news agency Antara reported.

"Meanwhile, the number of children under the red line (the required nutrition level) is 716,317," governor Zainul Madji said.

The provincial administration has encouraged a more varied diet among children and pregnant women to deal with the malnutrition problem.

The government has introduced maize, cassava and sweet potato besides rice as the main staple food there.

West Nusa Tenggara is expected to produce around 900,000 tons of rice this year but will only consume 555,000 tons, leaving surplus of more than 300,000 tons.

"Therefore, a malnutrition problem in West Nusa Tenggara surprises the people because it enjoys a rice production surplus," he said.

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Source-AFP
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