NGO slams Mamuju authorities over maggot-carrying children

MO- A local non-governmental organization has accused Mamuju district authorities of neglecting the people`s need for proper health services on account of the discovery of a third child with a body carrying live maggots.

"There have now been three cases of children suffering from physical conditions that were neglected for so long that part of their bodies began to decay and had become full of maggots. This is proof Mamuju is lacking in proper health services for the people," Amran, executive director of Celebes Development Watch (CDW), said here Friday.

The latest case involved a 12-year-old girl, Hartina, a resident of Sese village on Mamuju district`s Simboro Islands, who was now being treated at the Mamuju General Hospital.

Before Hartina, there was a 14-month-old infant, Edy, a resident of Binanga village in Mamuju sub-district, and Ummi Damianty of Tarinding village in Mamasa district, on the border with Mamuju district.

The three children originally suffered from ordinary wounds but because they did not get proper medical treatment, their wounds festered and became infected with germs or attracted flies.

The cases were an indication the authorities were not paying enough attention to the people`s need for affordable health services, especially in remote areas, Amran said.

"This is really a saddening situation, particularly because the local authorities often claim to be committed to providing free health services to the people," he said.

"Their claims now appear to be more like empty slogans because in reality many poor people still do not have access to free medical services," he added.

Amran said it was possible there were more maggot carrying children in Mamuju district who had yet to be discovered and reported about by the media.
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