The currently available data may not be accurate because the government only started to trace cases after AKI was detected in many patients, a member of the Indonesian Ombudsman, Robert Na Endi Jaweng, said here on Tuesday.
"We ask the government to present valid and real data per month; how many (cases) were (recorded) each month up to today," he added at a press conference.
According to him, if the data is not accurate, then the government would be considered to have maladministered the data because the validity and accuracy of the data would be questionable.
Based on the Health Ministry’s data, cases of AKI have been detected since January 2022. At that time, the number of cases was recorded at 2.
Meanwhile, there were no cases in February, 2 cases in March, no cases in April, 5 cases in May, 3 cases in June, 5 cases in July, 36 cases in August, 78 cases in September, and 114 cases as of October 21.
Jaweng said that the number of cases was lower at the beginning of the year because the data was only obtained in August or September. After the number of cases surged in many regions, the government started to look back at the previous months to trace cases.
“As of October 24, the case (AKI) has been found in 245 children, and 141 of them died,” he noted.
He further said that by looking at various developments, including comparisons of cases that are relatively similar to those recorded in other countries, Indonesia should be able to find a clue to AKI’s causes.
The government must take extraordinary steps to face health emergencies, especially in cases of syrup medicines that pose the threat of acute kidney injury in children, he stressed.
Related news: Investigation of kidney disorder causes lead to drug poisoning
Related news: Syrup drug ban effectively prevents additional kidney disorder cases
Translator: Sugiharto Purnama, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2022
