Twenty Children Accuse Orphanage Owner of Abuse

Jakarta Globe, Rahmat | September 30, 2010

Makassar. At least 20 children have reported an orphanage owner and his wife to the Somba Opu police subprecinct in Gowa district, claiming that the couple had starved and beaten them on numerous occasions.

In their statement to the police, the children, aged 5 to 17, said that the owners, Aisah and Abdul Azis, of the Auliah Orphanage, often beat them up for no apparent reason, at one point not provided them with any food for four straight days, and on other occasions provided them with just instant noodles.

“The noodles were expired, causing the children to vomit,” said First. Insp. Kasri, the subprecinct’s police chief of detectives. "The children in their statement point out they felt tortured, and suffered a lot in that orphanage."

Aisah, however, denied the allegations and said the children were being used by a third party.

“They have been provoked to file a police report by that other party,” Aisah said, but refused to elaborate on the identity of who she was referring to.

“Nothing stated in the report is true. It is also not true that we never fed them. We have enough rice stored in our barn yard. So it makes no sense at all,” Aisah said, while showing the barnyard to the reporters.

She said both she and her husband were ready to face the police should they be called in for questioning.

Ministers’ wives launch village program

Erwida Maulia, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta | Thu, 09/30/2010 10:09 AM

First Lady Ani Yudhoyono and Cabinet ministers’ wives launched on Wednesday a program called Prosperous Village, which is aimed at empowering villagers with the help of university students.

The pilot project launched in Hargotirto village, Kulonprogo regency, is a joint undertaking between the Solidarity of Unity Cabinet Ministers’ Wives (SIKIB) and Yogyakarta’s Gadjah Mada University (UGM).

“We hope the scheme can serve as an example for other villages in Indonesia,” UGM rector Sujarwadi said in a speech.

The project is a collboration between five major programs of SIKIB and the student-run UGM rural field work program.

Ani said the SIKIB had been developing five major programs aimed at improving health, creativity, education and social and environmental awareness among the less-privileged.

“The five programs are expected to help Indonesia meet its MDGs [Millienium Development Goals] targets. We try to do simple but concrete jobs,” she said, citing as example the SIKIB’s dispatching of a number of “smart cars” (mobile libraries) to several regions and the establishment of “smart houses” (small libraries) in others.

She said university students taking part in the implementation of the Prosperous Village scheme would also benefit from it because it would give them the opportunity to put what they learned at school into practice.

“And with their villages being developed, we hope the youths will stay there and support the development instead of leaving the villages to seek jobs in big cities,” Ani said.

Hargotirto, which is home to more 1,900 families, is located in rural Yogyakarta, about an hour drive from the provincial capital. Most of its population work as farmers arning on average US$2 a day.

The scheme has built the community center a “smart house”, which combines the functions of a library and an Internet cafe, and a small traffic education center where children can learn about road signs and rules.

Related Article:

First lady to inaugurate `prosperous village" in Yogyakarta

Officers seize 6 kg of drugs at Soekarno-Hatta

The Jakarta Post, Wed, 09/29/2010 10:36 AM

TANGERANG: Customs and Excise Office seized 3.9 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine worth Rp 5.9 billion (US$659,000) and 2,033 grams of heroin worth Rp 10.1 billion in three foiled smuggling attempts at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport last weekend.

Officers had arrested two Cambodian women and a Thai girl as suspects in the smuggling attempts, Banten Customs and Excise Office chief Nasar Salim said Tuesday.

“In our continuing investigations, we have also arrested a Nigerian man and an Indonesian woman as the alleged recipients of the drugs in a hotel in Central Jakarta,” he said.

Since January, customs officers have foiled up to 50 drug trafficking attempts through the airport, with a total street value of up to Rp 341 billion, Nasar said. — JP

Herbal Plants to be Cultivated in Perhutani Areas

Tempo Interactive, Tuesday, 28 September, 2010 | 20:41 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Semarang: Agriculture Minister Suswono said herbal plant farmers can use the state forest company, Perhutani’s space to cultivate herbal plants. Suswono was responding to farmers’ complaints about the little area they had to work on. “Please contact the local Perhutani to use the land for herbal plantations,” Suswono said during a meeting dialog with farmers in Ungaran, Semarang, yesterday.

Suswono said Perhutani has a program called “Managing Forests Together with the People,” through which farmers are allowed to utilize Perhutani areas to plant herbal plants among the existing hard plants. Seman, a farmer from Karanganyar, complained about the lack of area for herbal plant cultivation. “If only the farmers had the space and enough capital, the welfare of medicinal plant farmers would improve,” he said.

SOHIRIN

Long-Term Contraception Lagging as Sexually Active Singles Barred Access

Jakarta Globe, Dessy Sagita | September 28, 2010

Tania Widyaningsih is only 28 years old, but she already has three children and is expecting her fourth in about two months.

While condoms are available and are preferred for
 preventing sexually transmitted diseases, many
can’t access other birth control. (EPA Photo)   

She says she is aware of the contraception options available to her, including the permanent ones, but prefers the more traditional techniques of withdrawal, counting the days in her menstrual cycle, or using a condom.

She adds she once got an intrauterine contraceptive device (IUD), but stopped using it shortly after because she feared it would disrupt her menstrual cycle.

“I know a lot about contraception, but I miscarried twice before I had my first child, so having a lot of children is actually bliss for me,” Tania tells the Jakarta Globe.

Tania, who married at 20, says she frequently worries that she may not be able to provide her children with the proper care and attention, especially because she is a working mother.

“I’m not too worried for now because my children are still young, and our parents help us a lot, but I’m a little worried about their future,” she says.

Tania is not the only one, by far. Many Indonesians with a relatively high level of education don’t plan their families carefully, even though they know about contraception.

More than 90 percent of Indonesians say they fully understand the importance and benefits of contraception, yet only 64 percent use it, according to the National Family Planning Coordinating Board (BKKBN).

“That means almost 30 percent of those with knowledge about contraception don’t practice what they know, for various reasons,” says Sugiri Syarief, the BKKBN head.

Biran Affandi, country representative for the Asia-Pacific Council on Contraception (APCOC), says contraception is crucial not just for preventing unwanted pregnancies, but also protecting women from a gamut of menstruation-related ailments and dicomforts.

“Contraception, such as the pill, can shorten long periods and ease menstrual cramps,” he said at a press conference to mark World Contraception Day, which fell on Sept. 26.

“It can also reduce the risk of ovarian cancer and pelvic inflammation.”

Contraceptive pills contain hormones that prevent ovulation, thicken the cervical mucus — thus making it difficult for sperm to get through — and thin the lining of the womb, making it less receptive to eggs.

These pills are highly effective in preventing pregnancy, but must be taken daily at around the same time each day and are known for side effects that include weight gain and pimples — although this varies from person to person.

Biran, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Indonesia, says the number of people using contraception is not as high as it should be because many sexually active couples are not married.

By law, contraception may only be prescribed for married couples, says Setya Edi, the director of service and guarantee for the BKKBN’s contraception unit.

“For teens, we only provide information through peer trainers to prevent them from engaging in premarital sex,” he says.

Despite this, an estimated 63 percent of Indonesia’s 65 million teenagers are sexually active, according to a 2008 BKKBN study, with 21 percent of the girls having experienced an abortion.

The study also showed that 24 percent of teens who were sexually active understood about contraception but did not have access to it.

Biran says he has treated many pregnant teenagers who ran into medical complications because their bodies could not take the strain of being pregnant.

“It’d be ideal if we could stop them having sex, but if they’re doing it anyway, at least they should be safe,” he says.

Setya agrees that birth control and family planning programs could be the best solution for the country’s social and welfare problems.

“If the government was committed to implementing family planning programs, at least five of eight targets under the [UN-mandated] Millennium Development Goals would be achieved,” he says.

Firman Lubis, the chairman of Indonesia Health Coalition (KUIS), says the indicator of a nation’s health is determined by its maternal and infant mortality rates.

“Bringing down either parameter is highly dependent on the success of family planning programs,” he says.

“Contraception shouldn’t be a burden, it should be a necessity.”

Guest Speaker: Government should do more to develop ‘jamu’: Association

Dina Indrasafitri, The Jakarta Post | Mon, 09/27/2010 9:20 AM

The government wants to incorporate jamu — Indonesian traditional herbal medicine — into its healthcare scheme. Under its project, selected doctors would research the effectiveness of jamu to prevent disease or as supplements for medical treatment. The Jakarta Post’s Dina Indrasafitri talked with Charles Saerang, chairman of the Indonesian Herbs and Traditional Medicine Association (GP Jamu), which represents more than a thousand jamu makers, about how the industry is doing amid the dominance of modern medical treatment and how it might benefit from the government’s programs.

Question: How have perceptions of jamu shifted over the years? What is the current state of the industry?

Answer: In the beginning, jamu was used as part of social activities. People used to gather in jamu drinking places to socialize, the way they do over coffee nowadays. However, the issue of jamu has become more complex.

For instance, there are energy drinks and supplements that use elements of jamu, such as ginger and ginseng, in their ingredients. The community has gotten creative. They no longer want to be forced to swallow bitter jamu. It has taken different forms, such as capsules, spa equipment and aromatherapy tools. They are all part

of jamu.

Furthermore, jamu was previously seen merely as something with an invigorating benefit. But now it has curative and (disease treatment) benefits, for example, jamu products that have antioxidants and can manage cholesterol, blood pressure or liver functions.

Nowadays people do yoga or meditate and they use incense to calm their spirits. In that way, herbs are also used. Thus, there are the senses of smell and touch that are stimulated, in the form of massage oils, for example.

I see a trend emerging by 2020 where people move towards spices. In that way, people’s health will benefit from the spices they use in the cooking process.

When did the trend begin?

I think it began in 1985, due to customers’ changing tastes. The community wanted more than basic jamu. Thus, now we have jamu tea, liquid jamu, jamu coffee and so on.

How has the government responded to developments in the industry?

I think that we are currently in trouble. The 1986 regulation on jamu states that we are currently under the authority of the Health Ministry, but we should be under the Trade Ministry or the Industry Ministry.

Perhaps in 1986 it was difficult to grasp what jamu was, since it had been part of the community’s life, so at that time the main concern was to prevent people from drinking the wrong kind of jamu.

However, management of jamu is not only related to health issues. It also concerns other issues, such as trade, human resources and the development of small-scale jamu traders.

For example, let’s say I want to penetrate the Japanese market. I don’t know anything about it or its regulations. That is where the Trade Ministry should play its part.

Lack of guidance and management eventually caused the appearance of illegal jamu and jamu mixed with drugs. Instead of being given guidance, (illegal jamu producers) were closed by force.

The image of jamu as a cultural heritage no longer belongs to the Health Ministry but to the Industry Ministry or Trade Ministry.

So the Health Ministry should no longer regulate jamu?

Of course not. They are still needed, but the Trade Ministry should be the umbrella agency for whatever we do to develop jamu. We need the Health Ministry to prevent the unregulated production of jamu. There should be standards for cleanliness and the like.

The government is engaging in a “jamu scientification” project. However, some medical professionals see jamu as a supplement and not a cure. Will that make the project less effective?

Yes, the Health Ministry has shifted its view from upstream to downstream by trying to apply what is used by the jamu businesspeople under the (ministry’s) research and development division. Instead of figuring it out all over again, they will jump into the use of jamu, which has been consumed for thousands of years.

When will jamu be used as a cure?

Jamu producers are hoping that jamu could be used as a curative medicine but the research and development (division) said that it wants to go step-by-step, with prevention coming first.

Nevertheless, for jamu businesspeople what matters is that at least there is recognition by doctors—that is a step forward. Whether or not it is considered as preventive or curative agent is another matter.

The government must do something so that the projects will not employ products from outside the country. I think multilevel marketing (companies) are already eyeing such programs.

So for me it is good, but the question is: Will it affect the community in its implementation? I hope the government could take advantage of community health centers to promote this...My wish is that the government could increase the people’s awareness and keep them away from illness.

Research in natural resources is inseparable from jamu development. How is this progressing in Indonesia and who should be funding the research?

The government should fund research in cooperation with the private sector. Businesses could buy the research results in the form of five-year patent rights.

What if scientists face difficulties in finding companies to fund their research?

Businesspeople look for certainty when they invest in science, but researchers never think of that. They ask: “How can you expect results in one year? Research takes 10 to 15 years.”

My wish is to have a market for medicinal plant research. The curcuma has been researched by many universities and companies. Why not gather all that research? The government, research institutes and businesses need to work hand-in-hand to get the results of synergy.

Poverty Linked to Jump in Bali Suicides

Jakarta Globe, Made Arya Kencana | September 26, 2010

Denpasar. Beyond Bali’s calm and serenity lies an upsetting fact. The suicide rate among residents of the island of Gods has been increasing sharply this year.

Luh Ketut Suryani, director of the nongovernmental Committee Against Sexual Abuse, said on Sunday that, as of August, there have been 146 suicides in Bali this year, a staggering figure compared to the 39 cases registered last year.

Speaking at an event to mark Prevent Suicide Day, Suryani said the districts of Karangasem and Buleleng had Bali’s highest suicide rates.

“The two districts also have the highest number of mentally disturbed people and people who are chained down because of their mental condition,” she said.

She added that in Karangasem, 156,116 out of 360,827 people are considered poor, while that number stands at 47,908 out of 575,038 for Buleleng.

She also said that the main reason for Balinese to commit suicide was poverty and that it is a common problem on the island, the latest example being the case of 39-year-old Ni Kadek Ariyani.

She hung herself in her Jimbaran home in August, after taking the life of her two-year-old child.

Police concluded after their investigation that Ariyani had committed suicide because she had an outstanding debt of Rp 150 million ($16,800).

Suryani said that if the government and society remain ignorant about mental welfare, the island would end up housing more than 9,000 mentally disturbed people, out of which more than 350 would likely be chained down for lack of proper treatment.

The rising suicide rate in Bali was also noted by I Ketut Widnya, a researcher from the Hindu Dharma State Institute in Denpasar.

His research shows that one in every 41,000 Balinese is likely to commit suicide.

“It’s a very high probability compared to other regions,” he said.

Separately, Bali Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Gede Sugianyar confirmed the high suicide rate and said that police have intensified cooperation with schools and religious institutions in their effort to bring the number down.

“We send counselors to schools in order to increase awareness and to prevent suicide,” he said. The program consists of four parts.

There is information about caring for and sharing with one another, religious counseling, lessons in social communication skills and an attempt to create a wider movement discrediting the notion of suicide.

Bali HIV Group Urges Caution After Jump in Infected Homosexual Men

Jakarta Globe, Made Arya Kencana | September 24, 2010

Bali. A Bali health group is urging greater HIV/AIDS awareness for homosexual males after witnessing a rise in infections among patients tested at its clinic.

Christian Supriyadinata, director of the Gaya Dewata foundation, said that of the 170 homosexual males that had undergone counseling and testing at the foundation in the first half of 2010, some 18 percent of them were HIV positive, a big increase over past years.

“Of the hundreds of homosexual males who underwent counseling and examination at our foundation in 2008, 6 percent tested positive,” Christian said on Friday.

He said the foundation, which promotes sexually-transmitted infection education and treatment, and advocates safe sex in the homosexual community, had only managed to reach about 2,000 homosexuals. That’s a small group, considering the foundation believes the resort island is home to at least 25,000 homosexual men.

“I am certain that many of them are unreachable and have no access to proper, life-saving information about sexually transmitted diseases,” he said.

But Christian added that as the number of homosexuals arriving and residing in Bali rises, it appears HIV awareness continues to grow.

He also pointed out that more and more gay men who were initially afraid to get tested for HIV were now getting checked.

“We are motivating them to get themselves tested for HIV and to avoid unsafe sex. We suggest that they undergo a regular monthly test, whether or not they believe they are infected,” Christian said.

Mangku Karmaya, spokesman of the Bali AIDS Commission, said HIV transmission in Bali had started to grow among non-high-risk populations.

The commission found, for instance, that infections among mothers had increased.

Karmaya said the conclusion was made in reference to a recent testing campaign conducted by 60 midwives in the first half of this year.

He said that out of hundreds of mothers who were tested in the campaign, some 1.2 percent of them were found to be HIV positive.

“It has never happened before, we have reported the finding to the regional government and asked them to pay special attention to the case,” he said.

Aceh Police Seize Huge Marijuana Haul

Jakarta Globe, September 23, 2010

Armed police secure a truck load of confiscated marijuana unloaded at the police station in Banda Aceh in Aceh province on Thursday. Police raided a warehouse in nearby Kreung Raya district and seized the illegal contraband, however four suspects escaped. (AFP Photo/Chaideer Mahyuddin) 

Banda Aceh. Police in Aceh have seized 3.5 tons of marijuana that was allegedly destined for other provinces across the archipelago, authorities said.

The seizure was made on Wednesday night in the village of Ladong in Aceh Besar district. Police said the drugs were found in 71 sacks on board two trucks, following a routine traffic stop to check for stolen livestock.

“When officers started approaching one of the trucks, there were three people trying to pull a tarp over the cargo,” said Sr. Comr. Armensyah Thay, the chief of the Banda Aceh Police.

“They fled when they saw the officers, and wouldn’t stop even after the officers fired warning shots.” He added that all the suspects managed to flee under the cover of darkness.

“At first the officers didn’t know what was in the trucks,” Armensyah said.

“The officers weren’t carrying flashlights, so they took the trucks to the Krueng Raya subprecinct police station, and that was when they discovered the marijuana.”

Despite not making any arrests, the police identified two suspects — identified only as AB, a resident of Lhokseumawe, and NZ, from Aceh Besar — after recovering ID cards, a driver’s license and vehicle registration documents from the trucks.

Armensyah said that AB, the owner of one of the trucks, was wanted for a previous drug-smuggling offense.

“He’s a cross-province drug dealer,” he said, adding that the seized cargo was destined for Palembang in South Sumatra. From there, it probably was to be ferried over to Java, he added. 

Antara

Nine Drunken Indonesian Men Gang Rape Girl for 10 Hours

Jakarta Globe | September 23, 2010 

.

Jakarta. East Java Police have arrested nine men for the alleged gang rape of a 14-year-old girl from Broto village in Balong subdistrict in a drunken attack that lasted for 10 hours.

Balong Police Chief Adjutant Comr. Suwito said the girl’s ordeal began when she accompanied a friend, a boy identified as Anton, 17, to visit his friend, Eko, 17, in another village.

Upon arrival at Eko’s home she was confronted by the group of drunken men who took her into a bedroom and began raping her, Suwito was quoted by news portal beritajatim.com as saying.

To add insult to brutality, the alleged rapists gave the victim Rp 70,000 ($8) afterwards and left, leaving the bruised and battered girl to find her own way home.

“Her father was suspicious and asked her what happened. She told him about the rape and he lodged a police report. We arrested all the suspects right away,” Suwito said.

The nine men, all from Tatung village, are aged between 16 and 24 years.

The youngest suspect, Amad, said the rape was not premeditated, claiming they were drinking when the girl arrived and lust took over.

“We took turns ‘using’ her from 7 p.m. We finished with her after dawn,” he said.

Eko lives alone, with both his parents working in Malaysia.

WHO assistance to create healthy, pleasant traditional markets

Antara News, Thursday, September 23, 2010 00:10 WIB

Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta (ANTARA News) - The World Health Organization (WHO) has provided 2,400 US dollars to support a program to improve the sanitary health infrastructure of the Argosari traditional market in Wonosari, Gunung Kidul district.

A Health Ministry official, Wilfred M Purba, said here Wednesday the financial assistance was given under a cooperation agreement between the ministry and WHO.

"The program has a non-physical aspect , namely to change the general public`s perception of traditional markets as disorderly, untidy, dirty establishments so that they would be able to compete with modern markets which were already beginning to operate in Gunung Kidul district." he said.

He said the physical assistance in the form of infrastructure was given based on the traditional market`s needs determined by market`s stakeholders and the Gunung Kidul district government.

According to Wilfred, the best way to create a healthy traditional market was changing the market stakeholders behavior, namely the behavior of the people selling their goods in the market, the market visitors, the market traders` association and the market management.

He said altering the stakeholders` behavior was important to change the traditional market`s image in addition to the provision of supporting facilities needed to keep the market healthy, clean, neat and pleasant to see.

"The direction of the traditional market can be used for buying and selling transactions and tourism market so that visitors besides buying what they need can also engage in recreation," he said.

He said the Argosari traditional market as one of tens of traditional markets in Indonesia which turned into model traditional markets.

A WHO Indonesia officer, Tri Prasetyo, said the aim of the programs was also to anticipate the spread of avian influenza.

"The interest of market users will possible decrease if directly talking about the anticipation of avian influenza so that we have delivered to the people about a healthy market as general," he said.

He said that the traditional market program had been implemented since July 2009 and it would end on 2011. "Now we are coming to the phase of training the market management." he said.

Maternal deaths main block to goals

Dina Indrasafitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 09/20/2010 9:12 AM

Despite skepticism over Indonesia’s ability  to achieve several targets, delegates to this week’s millennium development goals (MDGs) summit in New York are upbeat the country is on the right track.

Nila Moeloek, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s special envoy for  MDGs, said over the weekend  that Indonesia still lagged behind in three areas: reducing the maternal mortality rate,  HIV/AIDS control and improving access to clean water. 

The summit will be hosted by the United Nations from Sept. 20 to 22.

Although Nila acknowledged it would be impossible to achieve 100 percent success, she expressed optimism that the government’s development plans would work well.

“The government’s long term plan is already pro-poor, pro-jobs and pro-environment.”

Indroyono Soesilo, the secretary- general for the Coordinating Public Welfare Minister’s Office, said that he was overall optimistic about the prospect of Indonesia’s MDG effort.

“[We’re] confident, except in the [area of] maternal mortality, we are still far behind on that,” he said.

Indonesia is aiming to reduce its 1990 maternal mortality rate by three-quarters by the 2015 deadline.

According to data from the ministry, the 1990 rate stood at around 390, which means the country should reach the rate of around 100 by the deadline. However, in  2007 the rate still stood at 228 deaths out of 100,000 live births.

One of the key factors in reducing the rate is births assisted by health workers. According to data from

the Health Ministry, the rate of assistance had increased from 38.5 percent in 1992 to 73.4 percent in 2007.

The National Development Planning Agency’s (Bappenas) Nina Sardjunani, who will also attend the summit, said the percentage had increased to 80 percent adding that “there are more positives than negatives.”

Nila added that the three weak aspects of Indonesia’s MDG efforts were interrelated. “Environment is related to disease. However, environment is also be affected by poverty,”  she said.

Using the US$1 a day benchmark, Indonesia is not in the “poor category”. However, Nila said the country should not be overly happy with the progress.

Strong support has also come from the House of Representatives, where legislators on Friday renewed their commitment to fighting poverty toward achieving the MDGs by 2015.

The House, which established a working committee on MDGs in March, reaffirmed that eradicating poverty by 2015 would be at the top of the legislative agendas and be “simply non-negotiable” toward accelerating the MDG progress.

Indonesia is one of seven countries with the highest rates of malnutrition along with India, Pakistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to recent reports from the UN Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Food Program.

“We do have to reduce the prevalence of  malnutrition among children under five to 15.5 percent by 2015 and we are currently [at] 17.9 percent. We’re still on track, but it is a big problem indeed,” Nina said.

Nina said Indonesia might even have a few suggestions for the world regarding MDG results.

Suggestions include using innovative financing schemes, which involves public-private partnerships and debt swap programs that will assist efforts in reaching the targets.

“Indonesia is experienced in debt swaps. Such financing mechanisms are what we are trying to remind developed countries of,” Nina said.

Every 90 seconds a pregnant mother dies

RNW, 19 September 2010 - 9:02am | By John Tyler (Photo: ANP)

More than 1,000 women die every day from complications around childbirth or pregnancy - that's one death every 90 seconds. Reducing this number is one of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, and the Dutch government has made it a priority.

(Photo: ANP)

Fatima died giving birth to twins in a hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. Her husband Ahmed, a security guard, was left to care for their eleven children.

Cristabalina Santos died in her straw hut in a mountainous region of Panama just hours after her 12th child was born. She developed an infection, and her husband could not find enough people to carry her the three hours it takes to reach the nearest hospital.

Snowball effect

A mother's death has a snowball effect, creating a host of new problems, particularly for poor families already facing numerous difficulties.

These problems include lost income is lost, older children having to take on the role of parenting with the result that they drop out of school, and younger children often also moving out of education as families try to fill the financial gap.

As a result, the spiral of poverty deepens.

Maternal mortality remains an enormous problem in the developing world, where the rates are hundreds of times higher than in industrialised countries. And despite the global attention given to the issue, as one of the Millennium Development Goals, things are not improving quickly.

Positive signal

New figures out this week showed some progress, a 34-percent reduction in fact. But with more than a thousand women still dying each day, it is hard to be optimistic. The target of reducing deaths by 75 percent, compared to 1990 levels, is unlikely to be reached by the deadline of 2015.

Even so, the Dutch Ambassador for the Millennium Development Goals, Christiaan Rebergen, remains upbeat:

"For the first time, we see a first positive signal. The Netherlands has done a lot to bring attention to it. It has always been neglected, but you see the last few years its getting more attention."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will announce a new plan for improving mother and child health during the upcoming three-day Millennium Goal Summit in New York, starting on 20 September.

Budget cuts

But what happens if leading nations in the fight against maternal mortality, like the Netherlands, start paying less attention to the problem?

Nicole Sprokel is a spokesperson for Amnesty International in the Netherlands. She is concerned that budget cuts necessitated by the global financial crisis will have a negative effect.

"Well there is of course the matter of money. Apart from lobbying governments to abide by human rights, there's the fact that countries like the Netherlands should continue to support governments with adequate technical and financial assistance to assure that obstetric care will continue to be available."

New Government

Many here in the Netherlands fear that a new government will slash the development budget.

Christiaan Rebergen remains hopeful, pointing to the fact that funds for addressing maternal mortality worldwide were actually increased in the UK despite drastic budget cuts. But there are fears that the issue will not receive sufficient attention at the New York Summit.

Play it down

Yvonne Bogaarts is spokesperson for the World Population Fund. She says the summit will publish an agreement, the text of which has already been written and says little about maternal mortality.

Sensitivities about the issue of abortion - unsafe abortions contribute to 15 percent of overall deaths surrounding pregnancy and childbirth - are playing a major role in this, according to Bogaarts. She calls this omission scandalous.

Other non-governmental organisations are critical of the Millenium Development Goals in general. Both Amnesty International and Transparency International say governments’ failure to respect human rights and to tackle corruption are slowing down progress toward meeting the goals.

Could have died

At the upcoming summit, leaders will focus on funding and figures. But of course in the end, the Millennium Development Goals are about helping people.

For instance, people like Safura Musah, a mother of eight children in northern Ghana. Safura could have died during the birth of her ninth child. But thanks

to a new ambulance, a mid-wife who referred her quickly to hospital, and a small loan from the local mosque to pay for the ambulance, Safura made it to hospital in time.

She was fortunate to receive the help she needed. But that day, 1,000 other pregnant women weren’t that lucky.

Maternal mortality in Holland

• In recent years, maternal mortality here in the Netherlands has gone up. From 1993 to 2005, 12 mothers died for every 100,000 children born, up from 9.7 in the ten years before that. By comparison, the average maternal mortality rate in Africa is 830 deaths per 100,000 births.
  
  Dutch experts say the higher figures in the Netherlands might be caused by two factors: first, Dutch women are getting pregnant later in life, bringing more health risks. In addition, the number of immigrant women giving birth has gone up. In some cases, immigrants are not sufficiently informed about the health care available to them.
  
  It is not clear what effect the practice of giving birth at home – one in three Dutch babies are born at home - has had on maternal mortality. Official figures indicate it has no effect, and indeed the percentage of home births has not changed that much. The Netherlands has a high maternal morality rate compared to many European countries, but it is almost as high as in France, where most births occur in hospital.

Millennium Development Goals

• At the turn of the millennium, member nations of the UN decided to set themselves a number a targets for making the world better.
  
  They chose eight subject areas, and calculated targets to be met by 2015. The targets use 1990 as the base year to calculate how much things should improve.

192 countries and 23 organisations signed up to:

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve Universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality rate by 2/3
5. Improve maternal health - reduce by 3/4 maternal mortality and achieve universal access to reproductive health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases - halt the spread of HIV/AIDS, and by 2010 universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development

Links:

• Amnesty International will launch a "maternal death clock" in Times Square in New York on Monday, 20 September.
• United Nations Population Fund has more personal stories on its website
• UN Millenium Development Goal film about Goal 5: reduce rates of maternal mortality

Many Indonesian researchers move to Malaysia

Antara News, Sunday, September 19, 2010 17:58 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Member of the House of Representatives (DPR)`s Commission X dealing with education Angelina Sondakh said that many Indonesian researchers had moved to Malaysia.

"The only way to solve the problem is to increase the budget for research and improve the welfare of researchers," the legislator from the Democrat Party told Antara here Saturday night.

Angelina said welfare was one of the causes of researchers moving to Malaysia where they would earn much more.

"I will try to increase the research budget as it has been reduced by routine budgeting especially at the Higher Learning Directorate" she said.

The one-time Miss Indonesia said the researchers are very important to Indonesia as they are highly-qualified human resources expected to accelerate the process of national reform.

"(We) are very concerned over the fact that so many research work had not been completed due to the lack of funds. Research need to be completed and the results should be followed up for public and commercial purposes," she said.

Angelina would invite her colleagues at the Commission X of different factions to fight for the improvement of researchers` welfare and the increase in budget for research purposes.

Poverty Leaves Three Children Paralyzed

Jakarta Globe, September 17, 2010

Menduk, Bangka Belitung. Three children from a small Indonesian village have been left paralyzed because their parents could not afford basic medical care for relatively minor sicknesses.

State news agency Antara identified the children as Nurul Anisa, 9, Zainal Jannah, 7, and Faturrahman, 4, from Menduk village, Bangka district, Bangka Belitung.

Fatimah, the mother of Nurul, said she that because the family was poor, they could not afford the cost of medication and medical treatment when her daughter came down with a fever.

“I took my daughter to Sungailiat general hospital when she suffered from a high fever but I could not afford her medication. This ... forced me to take care of her at home,” Fatimah said.

She said that her daughter’s condition only deteriorated and she finally became paralyzed.

“I have taken her to the public hospital several times but she has not recovered. This condition made me decide to take care of her at home. I also do not have money,” she said.

Juaidi, another villager, said his children, Zainal and Faturrahman, also ended up paralyzed because he could not send them to hospital when they came down with fevers.

This father of six said that as he had not money, he had to take care of his ailing children with traditional medicine.

He said doctors recommended that he take his children to Jakarta for treatment but “I do not have money.”

Juaidi said he hoped donors could help his children so they still had the will to live. 

Antara

Broccoli could provide potent pill to treat six million osteoarthritis sufferers

Daily Mail, By DAILY MAIL REPORTER, 16th September 2010

Broccoli has been hailed by scientists as a 'super food' for joints which could cure millions of arthritis sufferers.

The green vegetable is rich in the compound sulforaphane and initial research has suggested this may play a key role in protecting bones and joints and stop them from wasting away.

The humble broccoli has anti-cancer properties and scientists now believe it may also protect joints

Scientists at the University of East Anglia have found the chemical blocks the enzymes that cause joint destruction in osteoarthritis, which is the most common form of arthritis.

The team are now launching a new project that they hope will lead to a new broccoli-based treatment for Britain's six million arthritis sufferers.

Professor Ian Clark said: 'We all know broccoli is good for you but this is the first time it has been linked to a osteoarthritis.

'We know there is a chemical, sulforaphane, in broccoli that can slow down cartilage destruction and we want to see if this can actually get into the joints and stop the progress of the condition.

'The UK has an aging population and developing new strategies for combating age-related diseases such as osteoarthritis is vital - to improve the quality of life for sufferers but also to reduce the economic burden on society.'

Around 30 patients will be fed the cruciferous vegetable ahead of joint replacement operations.

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They will then be examined after their surgery to see if sulforaphane has successfully entered their joints.

If the test is found to be effective then more patients will be recruited for a larger clinical trial.

Professor Clark said: 'The results could mean we prevent many, many more needing to go for surgery because progress of the disease will either be slowed down or completely halted. It really is a breakthrough project.'

Currently, people suffering from arthritis can only choose between short-term pain relief or joint replacement operations.

Arthritis Research UK and the Diet and Health Research Industry Club (DRINC), is funding the £650,000 project.

Osteoarthritis is the leading cause of disability in the UK where it affects around six million people.

It is a degenerative joint disease which gradually destroys the cartilage in the joints, particularly in the hands, feet, spine, hips and knees of older people.

Broccoli has previously been linked with reducing the risk of cancer and is regarded as a 'super food'. However, there has not yet been a major study of its effects on joint health

Related Article:

Supplements for arthritis have no benefit, according to research