Mamuju, S Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - The extreme poverty of her family has made Desy, a one-year-old infant, gets serious malnourishment.
The daughter of Ruslia, 21, is currently being intensively cared at Mamuju district's public hospital, West Sulawesi Province.
Ruslia called on the government and donors to help her baby because she had no money to provide Desy with extra food supplements.
She said she was jobless and her husband had left her alone. Therefore, she could not afford the instant milk that Desy did need.
Ruslia said she was aware of the importance of milk for her baby but she could not buy it due to her poor financial condition.
"I cannot buy her instant milk and, unfortunately, I have no breast milk since my baby's birth," she said.
Ruslia's baby is just one of millions of malnourished children in Indonesia.
According to World Vision Indonesia, a non-governmental organization which plays an active role in fighting malnutrition, more than five million Indonesian children are malnourished.
It said the malnutrition was an "iceberg phenomenon" in which the number of minor, moderate, and serious malnourished children is often far higher than those seen on television.
The extreme poverty has made millions of less fortunate Indonesians like Ruslia get serious difficulties in dealing with the needs of medical treatment.
In Menduk village, Bangka district, Bangka Belitung Province, three children have become paralyzed mainly as a result of their parents' extreme poverty.
The ill-fated children were Nurul Anisa, 9, Zainal Jannah, 7, and Faturrahman, 4. They became paralyzed after their parents were not able to provide them with sound medical treatment at the local hospital.
Fatimah, mother of Nurul Anisa, told ANTARA that she could not afford the cost of medication and medical treatment when she suffered serious fever some time ago due to her family's extreme poverty.
Juaidi, another villager, also shared the same fate. His children, Zainal Jannah and Faturrahman, also got paralyzed because he failed to send them to hospital when suffering from high fever.
"My son, Faturrahman, has frequently got ill, including hydrocephalus, since the age of one month, while his younger brother, Zainal, gets paralyzed after suffering high fever when he is one year old," he said. (R013/f001 )
The daughter of Ruslia, 21, is currently being intensively cared at Mamuju district's public hospital, West Sulawesi Province.
Ruslia called on the government and donors to help her baby because she had no money to provide Desy with extra food supplements.
She said she was jobless and her husband had left her alone. Therefore, she could not afford the instant milk that Desy did need.
Ruslia said she was aware of the importance of milk for her baby but she could not buy it due to her poor financial condition.
"I cannot buy her instant milk and, unfortunately, I have no breast milk since my baby's birth," she said.
Ruslia's baby is just one of millions of malnourished children in Indonesia.
According to World Vision Indonesia, a non-governmental organization which plays an active role in fighting malnutrition, more than five million Indonesian children are malnourished.
It said the malnutrition was an "iceberg phenomenon" in which the number of minor, moderate, and serious malnourished children is often far higher than those seen on television.
The extreme poverty has made millions of less fortunate Indonesians like Ruslia get serious difficulties in dealing with the needs of medical treatment.
In Menduk village, Bangka district, Bangka Belitung Province, three children have become paralyzed mainly as a result of their parents' extreme poverty.
The ill-fated children were Nurul Anisa, 9, Zainal Jannah, 7, and Faturrahman, 4. They became paralyzed after their parents were not able to provide them with sound medical treatment at the local hospital.
Fatimah, mother of Nurul Anisa, told ANTARA that she could not afford the cost of medication and medical treatment when she suffered serious fever some time ago due to her family's extreme poverty.
Juaidi, another villager, also shared the same fate. His children, Zainal Jannah and Faturrahman, also got paralyzed because he failed to send them to hospital when suffering from high fever.
"My son, Faturrahman, has frequently got ill, including hydrocephalus, since the age of one month, while his younger brother, Zainal, gets paralyzed after suffering high fever when he is one year old," he said. (R013/f001 )