Indonesian children caught in ‘devil’s circle’ of coronavirus and malnutrition, killing hundreds

Experts have said the pandemic poses little threat to the young but in Indonesia underlying factors have proven deadly

’Covid-19 proves that we have to fight against malnutrition,’ a senior health ministry official said

Reading Time:2 minutes

Iyansyah, 45, shows a picture of his child Fahri, who died from coronavirus aged nine months. Photo: Reuters

Published: 8:00am, 12 Jun 2020Updated: 8:00am, 12 Jun 2020

Hundreds of children in Indonesia are believed to have died from Covid-19, giving the Southeast Asian country one of the world’s highest rates of child deaths from the novel coronavirus that experts around the world say poses little danger to the young.

Paediatricians and health officials in the world’s fourth most populous country said the high number of child deaths from a disease that mostly kills the elderly was due to underlying factors, in particular malnutrition, anaemia and inadequate child health facilities.

“Covid-19 proves that we have to fight against malnutrition,” said Achmad Yurianto, a senior health ministry official.

He said Indonesian children were caught in a “devil’s circle”, a cycle of malnutrition and anaemia that increased their vulnerability to the coronavirus. He compared malnourished children to weak structures that “crumble after an earthquake”.

Since Indonesia announced its first coronavirus case in March it has recorded 2,000 deaths, the highest in East Asia outside China.

A total of 715 people under 18 had contracted the coronavirus, while 28 had died, according to a health ministry document dated May 22.

It also recorded more than 380 deaths among 7,152 children classified as “patients under monitoring”, meaning people with severe coronavirus symptoms for which there is no other explanation but whose tests have not confirmed the infection.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x