Iranian wrestling coach busted for smuggling at airport

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 01/27/2011

Officials say they arrested on Monday an Iranian man for allegedly attempting to smuggle Rp 2.2 billion (US$244,200) of crystal methamphetamine through Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

Airport customs office chief Iyan Rubianto said Morteza Moosaie Mooza, 43, allegedly hid 1.5 kilograms of crystal meth in six separate places in his luggage such as laptop monitor display, a keypad, a CD drive, a speaker, laptop charger and perfume box.

We tried to turn on the portable computer. It all worked but when we rexamined the laptop we found the drugs hidden inside,” he said at a press conference at his office on Thursday.

The suspect - a wrestling coach in Tehran - said he was to deliver the drugs to someone in Jakarta, who would in turn deliver the crystal meth to Bali.

Agents from the customs office and the National Narcotics Body (BNN) tracked down Mooza’s alleged contact in Jakarta but failed to find the suspect’s Bali connection, according to Iyan.

Morteza, two other Iranians, a French citizen and a Phillipine citizen have been arrested at the airport for drug smuggling since Jan. 1., Iyan said.

Customs officers seized 8.2 kilograms of crystal meth valued at Rp 12.2 billion in the five cases, he added.

Australian arrested for alleged people smuggling

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 01/26/2011

The National Police announced Wednesday they had arrested an Australian citizen for allegedly smuggling illegal immigrants from Indonesia to Australia.

The man was identified as Haydar Khani and by several other aliases. Haydar was arrested in an apartment in Senayan, South Jakarta, on Tuesday.

National Police Headquarter spokesman Boy Rafli Amar said the police had been told about Haydar by his agents; Hasan Basri and Erwin.

"Hasan and Erwin are now being detained at the Bandung police office," Boy said.

He said Haydar had on six occasions organized the transportation of illegal migrants from Indonesian to Australia.

"However, on Dec 15 last year a boat carrying some of those illegal migrants crashed in bad weather. As many as 30 immigrants died, and the 42 others are now in Australia," Boy said.

He said the police would send a team of investigators to Australia next week to question the survivors of the boat wreck.

Research: 18,000 smokers in S. Kalimantan are 5-9 years old

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 01/25/2011

A South Kalimantan Health Agency survey has revealed that around 18,000 children aged between 5 to 9 years old are active smokers, as quoted by Antara state news agency.

The shocking data was revealed by the head of the South Kalimantan Health Agency, Rosihan Adhani, on Tuesday, while drafting a Regional Regulation (Perda) on the establishment of smoke-free zones (KTR) in Banjarmasin.

KTRs will be established around places of worship, healthcare facilities, schools, playgrounds, workplaces and public transportation facilities.

According to Rosihan, the amount of juvenile smokers in the South Kalimantan province significantly increases every year. Approximately 30.5 percent of South Kalimantan’s population are smokers –close to the national rate of 34.7 percent.

The research reveals that 30.5 percent of the 3.6 million people living in South Kalimantan are smokers. Approximately 41.3 percent of the smokers are between 15 and 19 years of age. Those aged between 10 and 14 years old accounts for 17.5 percent of the total, and about 18.000 – or 1.7 percent – are within the age group of 5-9 years old.

The KTRs are intended to prevent non-smokers and young adults from being exposed to cigarette smoke, as passive smokers not only face health risks associated with second-hand smoke but it also sets a negative example for children and young adults who might end up smoking “out of curiosity”.

“Our main goals are to reduce tobacco-related diseases and/or deaths and to increase the air quality in South Kalimantan,” Rosihan said. “But we also hope the KTRs could reduce the prevalence of juvenile smoking, and hopefully increase workplace efficiency, as non-smokers are generally healthier and do not take ‘smoking breaks’ as smokers do.”

Police raid meth factory in West Jakarta

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 01/25/2011

The Jakarta Police have raided an illegal drug factory in a shop house in Tubagus Angke, West Jakarta, after being tipped off by a suspect arrested earlier.

The arrested man, identified only as BPK, is being held in the Salemba police detention center in East Jakarta.

The detainee said drugs were being produced in the shop house, Sr.Com. Anjan Pramuka Putra, director of drugs unit at the Jakarta police, was quoted by Kompas.com as saying.

The police then raided the building, seizing 5 kilograms of shabu-shabu (crystal methamphetamine), 2 kilograms of which was in liquid form, from the fourth floor of the four-story shop house in the Duta Square complex.

In the raid, the police arrested two men allegedly involved in making the drugs.

The police said they arrested BPK after arresting a man, identified as AS, for possessing 0.3 grams of crystal methamphetamine. The man said he had bought the drugs from BPK.

Anjan said the drug factory had been running for a year, and produced Rp 7.5 billion worth of drugs per day. However, he added, the factory had not been producing drugs for a month.

“Maybe because they lacked raw materials,” he said, adding that some of the materials were imported.

French man caught with 5.1 kg of shabu-shabu

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Mon, 01/24/2011

The National Narcotics Agency on Monday announced it had arrested a French citizen attempting to smuggled 5.1 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine into Indonesia.

The man, Gerrard Debetz, 53, was arrested at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Jan.11, after he got off an Emirates Airlines flight from Istanbul, agency narcotics chief Benny Mamoto said in Jakarta.

An Iranian, Abbas Bidmal Gharibali, 41, and an Indonesian, Decywarti Wirahardja, 42, were later arrested in connection with the drug trafficking attempt, kompas.com reported.

Benny said the authorities seized 5.1 kg of shabu-shabu (crystal methamphetamine) that had been hidden by Debetz in a red suitcase.

“The drugs were to be sold in Indonesia. This amount has been estimated to be enough to supply 20,000 addicts,” he said.

Housewives account for most HIV/AIDS cases in Papua: Govt

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 01/24/2011

Most of the people reporting HIV/AIDS infections in Papua last year were housewives, accounting for 164 individuals, the government says.

Most of these women had contracted HIV from their husbands, Jayapura AIDS Commission secretary Purnomo said Monday in Sentani as reported by kompas.com reported.

“Their husbands were unfaithful,” he said

Official records show there were 609 people living with HIV/AIDS in Papua last year, comprising 242 men and 367 women.

Up to 164 of the women were housewives, and 102 were sex workers. Of the total, 37 were civil servants, 67 were employees of private companies, 41 were high school and college students and 61 were farmers or blue collar or informal workers.

Twelve of the women were under four years old and 44 were between 15 and 19 years of age, while most (285 of them) were in their 20s; 198 were in their 30s and 55 were in their 40s.

Most HIV/AIDS cases were found in the Sentani district, 126 in East Sentani, 26 in Kauran, 20 in Nimboran and 25 in West Sentani.

Four children had contracted HIV from their mothers, seven from blood transfusions and the rest from sexual intercourse.

Filipino woman caught with crystal meth in stomach

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 01/21/2011

Customs officers at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport have foiled another attempt to smuggle crystal methamphemine (shabu-shabu) by a Filipino woman, an official said Friday.

The woman, known only as "Susan RT", 42, had ingested 53 capsules containing the drug.

"This is the fourth smuggling attempt we have foiled where the drugs have been swallowed," airport customs investigation chief Gatot Sugeng Wibowo said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Gatot said the suspect was arrested at the airport's terminal II D on Thursday at 1 p.m..

From the suspect, the officers confiscated 614 grams of crystal meth, estimated to be worth up to Rp 950 million.

The suspect came to Jakarta from Bangkok on board Thai Airways flight TG-433.

200 people died from HIV/AIDS-related illness in Jayapura

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 01/21/2011

Up to 200 people people living with HIV/AIDS in Jayapura, Papua, died in 2010, an increase from the 180 deaths from AIDS related illness in 2009.

"Most of the victims died because they only found out they had the disease too late, and only started receiving treatment in the fourth stage of the disease,” National AIDS Commission secretary Purnomo said as quoted by kompas.com in Sentani, Jayapura regency, on Friday.

Purnomo added that people living with HIV/AIDS still faced stigmatization, and because of this often waited until it was too late to seek treatment.

50,000 Balinese suffering from cataracts: Health official

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 01/21/2011

About 50,000 people in Bali are suffering from cataracts and the number is expected to increase by 0.1 percent annually, a physician says.

Many people suffer from the disease not only because of old age, but also because of poor nutrition, unfavorable weather, diabetes and excessive exposure to sunlight, Indera Hospital chief Dr. Pande Sri Joni said Friday in Denpasar after receiving Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Greg Moriarty.

Moriarty visited the hospital in relation to health donations from the Australian government amounting to Aus$3 million, Antara reported Friday.

Joni said cataract patients could get their sight back through operations, adding that despite efforts by the government to prevent the illness, the number of cataract patients continued to increase.

“Every day [we] perform 10 operations. Each year we treat 1,000 patients and the number will increase to 2,000,” he said.

The hospital has five ophthalmologists who perform the eye surgery and also a mobile unit that can travel to villages throughout Bali upon requests from regional administrations.

Mentally ill woman locked up in chains for 20 years in Aceh

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 01/20/2011

A woman with a mental disorder has been locked up and chained in a small room in Aceh for about 20 years by her parents.

The 41-year-old woman, Butet, has been locked up since 1990 while her younger brother, Janter, has suffered the same form of incarceration for 15 years, Bungani Boru Saragih Munthe said.

Butet, who has lived with her aunt since she was a child, grew up a normal girl, but started to show signs of suffering from a mental illness when she was at senior high-school. She said that she was under distress because her aunt always treated her badly, her mother was quoted as saying on Wednesday by Tribunenews.com.

After she graduated from school she could not find a job, and traveled to Jakarta to try her luck. However, she remained jobless. Her mental illness became more serious and she was sent to live with her parents in Kutacane.

Her mother said that Butet often stole things from her neighbors and acted violently.

After the report was made about the neighbors, a military officer forced Butet’s father, Samsudin Purba, to lock her up. She was put in a room measuring 4 by 4 meters behind the house.

One night several men broke into the room and gang raped her.

“Butet told me about what happened, but we did not believe her because she was insane,” the mother said, crying.

In the same room, Butet later delivered a baby, who was immediately given to a childless relative.

After the rape, the parents made several efforts to cure the woman, eventually selling their land, house and valuables to pay for her medical treatment, but to no avail.

Samsudin died in 2005. Not long after Butet was sexually molested, prompting Bungangi to move to Pane district in Simalungun, along with her children in 2006.

In the new surroundings, Butet’s condition improved slightly and she was allowed to communicate with her neighbors. But she remained chained in her room. Her brother, who also suffered from a mental disorder, was locked up in a separate room.

"Good morning, good morning,” Butet said in English as reporters visited her. “Come here, take my picture, I am an artist," she said, switching to Indonesian.

Bungangi, who worked as a traditional masseuse, said she had had another child who used to suffer from a mental disorder, but had recovered and now led a normal life.

She said they had inherited the illness from her husband whose three siblings also suffered from the same mental illness.

Asked why she locked up her children, she said, “At least this way I can see my children die before my eyes, rather than their being killed by people out there”.

She said that the neighbors often gave food to her family, but they never received help from the government.

Pane district head, Jan Petrus, said he did not know that the two residents had been chained up for five years. He said that he had been stationed at the post for two months and had promised to help them.

Related Article:

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Tsunami-hit Mentawai in need of medicine, health workers

The Jakarta Post, Thu, 01/20/2011

More than two months after the tsunami struck Mentawai Islands, many victims are in desperate need of medicine and health workers, a humanitarian worker says.

Health Project manager of Mitra Peduli Mentawai Dr. Louisa A. Langi said that at least 134 people in evacuation camps on Siberut Island suffered from various illnesses such as diarrhea, fever and acute respiratory problems, kompas.com reported Thursday.

Many people were evacuated to Siberut Island as the area was relatively not affected by the devastating tsunami, which swept parts of Sipora, Pagai Utara and Pagai Selatan islands, last Oct. 25.

The lack of medicine was alarming, Louisa said, adding that even paracetamol was not available.

She called upon the government to pay more attention to the evacuees, especially those suffering from illnesses.

Head of the provincial disaster management agency Hermensyah said Wednesday that the budget was allocated only for victims who were directly affected by the disaster. As for the medicine shortage, Hermensyah said the problem could be settled with continuing funds from third parties.

Bandung medical school reduces foreign student intake

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 01/19/2011

The Medical School of Padjadjaran University in Bandung says it will reduce the number of new foreign students from 100 to 90 in the coming academic year.

The policy is meant to provide more opportunities to Indonesian students hoping to become medical doctors, school dean Tri Hanggono Achmad said Wednesday as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

This year the Medical School will accept a total of 300 new students, including foreigners, most of whom come from Malaysia. Some others come from Timor Leste.

Every year, between 400 and 500 students take the enrollment test, which comprises an academic test, an English language test, a psychometric test and an interview.

For the course, foreign students are charged higher tuition fees, at US$3,000 per semester.

Now doctors prescribe herbal medicines

Antara News, Andi Abdussalam, Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Since time immemorial, herbal medicines have been used by forefathers in Indonesia to heal different kinds of diseases, yet they have not gained recognition, at least until recently, by the medical world to be recommended in doctor`s prescriptions.

Seeing the healing power and economic potential of at least 3,000 kinds of herbal medicines in Indonesia, the government is now however preparing 12 hospitals throughout the country to open herbal clinic services where doctors can prescribe herbal medicines for their patients.

This is a government effort to promote herbal medicines in Indonesia as a complementary healing to modern medication. "Thus, herbal medicines have now become alternatives at hospitals for the people to cure their diseases," Chairman of the Indonesian Herbal Medical Association (PDHMI) Hardhi Pranata said recently.

The 12 hospitals where the government is now preparing to open clinic services for patients willing to use herbal medication included the Cipto Mangunkusomo general hospital (RSCM), the Dharmais hospital, the Persahabatan hospital in Jakarta, the Sardjito hospital in Yogyakarta, the Hasan Sadikin hospital in Bandung, West Java, the Dr Soetomo hospital in Surabaya, East Java, and the Shangla hospital in Bali.

For this purpose, doctors who are assigned to cater patients at the hospitals` herbal clinics are given education and training on herbal medicines.

"After attending the training, the doctors will get a certificate which authorizes them to provide herbal medication prescription for their patients," Hardhi said adding that the Indonesian Medical Association had also been determined to take herbs as a complementary medicine to modern medication.

Besides training doctors, the government is also trying to promote herbal medicines through a `scientification` process at the Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT).

"Scientification will provide scientific evidence for herbal medicines on their effectiveness to cure a disease," BPPT Head Marzan Azis Iskandar said.

It has so far taken a long time and big cost to conduct a research and clinic test to turn a herbal medicines into a scientific product.

"Now technology has been available that can shorten the process with low cost. But to do that cooperation with all sides from the government, private institutions and the experts is needed," he said.

Technology is important which according to natural medicine researcher Prof Dr Subagus Wahuono of the Yogyakarta-based Gajah Mada University, is needed to enrich the active compounds of herbal medicines.

"There are two important things for the development of herbal medicines, namely to enrich the active compounds and their frames of the a herb material," he said.

He said that although Indonesia had abundant medicinal plants yet their active compounds that could be extracted were relatively low. "For example, from one kilogram of a medicinal plant, only about one milligram active compounds could be extracted," the professor said.

He said that the active compounds provide herbal medicines with the ability to cure a disease. The higher the active compounds of a herbal medicine product had, the higher ability it had to cure a disease.

Subagus said that active compounds and their frames could be enriched with a bio-technology development. "But conducting a bio-technology research will need a high cost," he said.

That is why, only a small number of herbal medicine products in Indonesia have undergone a scientification process.

Head of the Research and Development of Medicinal Plants and Traditional Medicines of the Ministry of Health, Indah Yuning Prapti said that of the 3,000 kinds of herbal medicines circulating in the country, only four had undergone a scientification process.

"The four are herbal medicines for inflammation, gout, hypertension and cholesterol.

There are still a lot of ones that need scientification process," she said.

In the meantime, to advance herbal medicine researches in the country, Soegijapranata Catholic University (Unika Soegijapranata) in Semarang, Central Java, and Providence University in Taiwan have agreed to cooperate in herbal medicine research.

"A team from our university currently visiting Providence University in Taiwan reached the cooperation agreement with the hosts," Unika Soegijapranata spokesman Antonius Juang Saksono said recently.

Antonius said Unika Soegijapranata Rector Prof Budi Widiaarko who led the team to Taiwan had reported that the two universities had reached an agreement to cooperate in various fields of research including herbal medicine.

He said both parties would carry out a research on the prospects of herbal medicine industry to go international.

"One of the researches which had been agreed on is about the prospects of herbal medicine in Indonesia and its development in the future," Antonius said.

Indeed, with their economic and healing potentials, herbal medicines promise a good business prospect in Indonesia.

This has led publicly listed state-owned drug and cosmetic firm PT Kimia Farma (KAEF) to consider acquiring a number of herbal medicine companies in East and Central Java worth up to Rp40 billion.

"Herbal medicine business in Indonesia is offering a big chance in the future so that KAEF is considering to acquire a number of herbal medicine companies," KAEF Corporate Secretary Ade Nugroho last week.

Health Minister suffering from cancer

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sun, 01/16/2011

Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih has been diagnosed with cancer, an official said Sunday.

“Lung cancer has been detected," health policy special staff official Bambang Sulistomo said, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

The news came as a surprise considering Endang’s healthy lifestyle and appearance, he said, adding that the minister had been undergoing treatment in Guang Zhou, China. “One visit to China usually lasts four to five days,”

Bambang said that thus far Endang’s work had not been affected, but did not know the severity of her condition.

Related Article:

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French man arrested with 5 kg of crystal meth

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang, Banten | Thu, 01/13/2011

A French citizen was arrested at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Tuesday carrying 5 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine (“shabu-shabu”) worth an estimated Rp 7.6 billion (US$ 843,600), an official says.

“The shabu-shabu was packed in his case pockets,” airport customs chief investigator Gatot Sugeng Wibowo said Thursday.

The suspect, Gerard D, 53, flew Emirates Airways (EK-0356) from Dubai to Jakarta. He was captured at Terminal II D of Soekarno Hatta International Airport at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.

Gerard said he worked as a hotel surveyor in Thailand and Singapore.

Suspect admits to kidnapping, molesting and selling 96 children

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 01/12/2011

Following the arrest of Sartono, 33, on suspicion of kidnapping, molesting and trafficking children in the Thousand Islands regency, the suspect admitted to shocked investigators that he had committed acts against at least 96 children.

Thousand Islands Police detective chief Adj. Comr. Reynold EP Hutagalung said Sartono told police investigators that his pedophilic behavior spanned 17 years.

“He remembers the names of 16 children so far,” Reynold said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

In the last two years alone, Sartono allegedly molested 54 children.

Sartono said that he had kidnapped, molested and sold 42 children prior to 2008.

“Most of them were street children between 14-years-old and 17-years-old who lived in the vicinities of Purwakarta railway station, Cikampek railway station and Kampung Bandan railway station,” Reynold said.

On Tuesday, police investigators took Sartono back to the locations of his admitted pedophilic acts to help him remember the events.

“We brought the suspect to Serang, Banten, to find more evidence of the crimes,” he said.

Police arrested Sartono at a motel in the Harapan islet on Friday, saving Rul, 14, who had been kidnapped by Sartono and was missing since Nov. 25, 2010. Sartono had allegedly sodomized Rul and forced him into prostitution by serving other grown-up men in exchange for money.

Turkish foundation distributes meat among Yogyakarta`s poor

Antara News, Saturday, January 8, 2011

Yogyakarta (ANTARA News) - Thousands of poor people here Saturday received sacrificial meat packages donated by Turkish charity organization Mahmud Es`ad Cosan (MEC) Foundation working in cooperation with the local government.

"This is the third time we are cooperating with the Yogyakarta administration to distribute sacrificial meat among the poor," Ali Cetin, a MEC Foundation representative, said.

The Turkish organization had procured 102 tons of meat for distribution among the poor in 30,000 packages each weighing 3 kilograms , Ali said.

The donation actually came from Turkish people living in Australia, he said, adding that MEC Foundation would carry out the same action in Medan, North Sumatra.

"About 26,000 meat package will be distributed in Yogyakarta and the rest, 4.000 packages, in Medan," Ali said.

MEC Foundation is a social organization founded by Turkish ulema Mahmud Es`ad Cosan after whom the organization was eventually named.

Yogyakarta Vice Mayor Haryadi Suyuti led a team of local officers in handing out the meat packages to about 8,000 poor people assembled in the Mandala Krida Sports Stadium here.

"This is part of the local government`s program for alleviating poverty in Yogyakarta, although the goods we hand out today are consumptive," said Haryadi, who is also chairman of Yogyakarta`s Poverty Eradication Coordinating Team (TKPKD).

Haryadi said the free meat distribution was a complement to the Segoro Amarto program launched by Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X in 2010.

About 8.000 people from five sub-districts in Yogyakarta had flocked to Mandala Krida Sport Stadium Stadium to receive the sacrificial meat packages.

"Each of the 8,000 people have been given a coupon that entitles them to receive one package of 3 kg of meat," he said.

AP EXCLUSIVE: US says too much fluoride in water

AP, Jan. 7, 2011 8:49 AM ET

ATLANTA (AP) — Fluoride in drinking water — credited with dramatically cutting cavities and tooth decay — may now be too much of a good thing. It's causing spots on some kids' teeth.

FILE - In this June 3, 2008 file photo, Liberty Valley Elementary
School, Danville, Pa., kindergarten student Tianna Swisher attempts
to drink from the water fountain at Montour Preserve, near
Washingtonville, Pa., during the school's outdoor field trip. Fluoride in
drinking water,credited with dramatically cutting cavities and tooth decay,
may now be too much of a good thing. It's causing spots on some kids'
teeth. A reported increase in the spotting problem is one reason the
federal government will announce Friday, Jan. 7, 2011, it plans to lower
the recommended limit for fluoride in water supplies, the first such
change in nearly 50 years. (AP Photo/Bloomsburg Press Enterprise,
Bill Hughes, File)

A reported increase in the spotting problem is one reason the federal government will announce Friday it plans to lower the recommended limit for fluoride in water supplies — the first such change in nearly 50 years.

About 2 out of 5 adolescents have tooth streaking or spottiness because of too much fluoride, a surprising government study found recently. In some extreme cases, teeth can even be pitted by the mineral — though many cases are so mild only dentists notice it.

Health officials note that most communities have fluoride in their water supplies, and toothpaste has it too. Some kids are even given fluoride supplements.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is announcing a proposal to change the recommended fluoride level to 0.7 milligrams per liter of water. And the Environmental Protection Agency will review whether the maximum cutoff of 4 milligrams per liter is too high.

The standard since 1962 has been a range of 0.7 to 1.2 milligrams per liter.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the splotchy tooth condition, fluorosis, is unexpectedly common in kids ages 12 through 15. And it appears to have grown much more common since the 1980s.

"One of the things that we're most concerned about is exactly that," said an administration official who was not authorized to speak publicly before the release of the report. The official described the government's plans in an interview with The Associated Press.

The government also is expected to release two related EPA studies which look at the ways Americans are exposed to fluoride and the potential health effects. This shift away from government's long-standing praise of the benefits of fluoride is sure to re-energize groups that still oppose it.

Fluoride is a mineral that exists naturally in water and soil. Scientists in the early 1940s discovered that people who lived where water supplies naturally had more fluoride also had fewer cavities. Some locales have naturally occurring fluoridation levels above 1.2.

Today, most public drinking water supplies are fluoridated, especially in larger cities. Counting everyone, including those who live in rural areas, about 64 percent of Americans drink fluoridated water.

Fluoridation has been fought for decades by people who worried about its effects, including conspiracy theorists who feared it was a plot to make people submissive to government power.

Maryland is the most fluoridated state, with nearly every resident on a fluoridated water system. In contrast, only about 11 percent of Hawaii residents are on fluoridated water, according to government statistics.

Drinking water patterns have changed over the years, so that some stark regional differences in fluoride consumption are leveling out. There was initially a range in recommended levels because people in hotter climates drank more water. But with air conditioning and sodas, Americans in the South and Southwest don't necessarily consume more water than those in colder states, said one senior administration official.

Fluorosis is considered the main downside related to fluoridation.

According to the CDC, nearly 23 percent of children ages 12-15 had fluorosis in a study done in 1986 and 1987. That rose to 41 percent in the more recent study, which covered the years 1999 through 2004.

"We're not necessarily surprised to see this slow rise in mild fluorosis," Dr. William Kohn, director of the CDC's division of oral health, said in a recent interview.

Health officials have hesitated to call it a problem, however. In most kids, it's barely noticeable; even dentists have trouble seeing it, and sometimes don't bother to tell their unknowing patients. Except in the most severe cases, health officials considered the discoloring of fluorosis to be a welcome trade-off for the protection fluoride provides against cavities.

"One of water fluoridation's biggest advantages is that it benefits all residents of a community — at home, work, school, or play. And fluoridation's effectiveness in preventing tooth decay is not limited to children, but extends throughout life, resulting in improved oral health," said HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Howard Koh, in a statement.

Indeed, many health leaders continue to be worried about cavities, particularly among poor families with kids who eat a lot of sweets but don't get much dental care. The American Public Health Association in November adopted a resolution calling for coordinated programs to be established at public health, dental and medical clinics to offer fluoride varnish — a highly concentrated lacquer painted on teeth to prevent cavities.

Secretary Kathleen Sebelius could make a final decision within a few months, the administration official said.

___

Online: CDC on fluoridation: http://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/

Related Article:

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Papua believed to be human traffickers` market : minister

Antara News, Wednesday, January 5, 2011 

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Women`s Empowerment and Children`s Protection Minister Linda Amalia Sari said here Tuesday there were indications that Papua and West Papua were a human trafficking market.

"There are indications that Papua and West Papua have become a destination for victims of human trafficking ," said Linda who is also executive chairperson of the government`s Human Trafficking Handling and Prevention Task Force in an expose of her ministry`s work programs in 2011.

She said her ministry was making an effort to further investigate the indications and find out the truth. "We are going to folow up the clues on human trafficking victims in Papua," she added.

Based on preliminary data her ministry had received, Papua and West Papua were thriving markets for human traffickers.

"According to preliminary reports, many underage women from other parts of the country have been brought to Papua and West Papua to work as waitresses and possibly as commercial sex workers," she said.

She said she was planning to set up branches of the Human Trafficking Hand;ing and Prevention Task Force in all cities and districts in Papua and West Papua.

At present such Task Force branches already existed in 20 provinces and 70 districts across Indonesia.

"The Task Force`s function is to monitor, discuss problems and obstacles as well as to synergize implementation of prevention and management actions against human trafficking nationally," she said.

Ministry to prioritize health services for poor in 2011

Antara News, Monday, January 3, 2011

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Health Ministry will prioritize health services for the poor and people living in remote areas in its main work program in 2011, its chief said.

"The most important thing is that we will bring health access closer to the people, especially the poorer and those living in remote areas," Health Minister Endang Rahayu said here Monday after installing new officials at her ministry.

She said the health services would of course have to meet good quality standards and be given more health staff and linked to better reference channels.

Health services in 2011 would be different from those provided in 2010 whereas this year the services will be more preventive in nature, unlike last year when services had been provided in hospitals.

"In 2010 we gave priority to cases that couldn`t wait, namely treatment of sick people and we increased basic hospital services, and the principle that hospitals may not refuse to admit patients for any reason. Now, we begin with something more down-stream by (implementing) preventive programs," she said.

Apart from giving health services at health posts, Rahayu added that Ministry of Health will boost the role of public-based health services by involving public participations such as implemented at the Village Ready (Desa Siaga) and Integrated Service Centers (Posyandu).

Also, Minister Rahayu ensured that free-of-charge maternal services was started in January 2011, a program linked to the public health service (Jamkesmas) program. The broad outline of the program is being prepared as well as the required fund allocations.

"What`s rather complicated is that how to distribute the fund. This is a part of the Jamkesmas, whether the fund could be disbursed through puskesmas, the most possibly it will be transferred to the regency governments," she revealed.

The free maternal service will be given in the form of package, starting from inspections during pregnancy, birth process, post-natal check-ups and also birth control provision because the free service will be provided only for limited number of children.