JAKARTA - TENS of thousands of children on a remote island chain in eastern Indonesia are not getting proper nutrition, a report said on Monday.

At least 39,080 children in the province of West Nusa Tenggara suffer from malnutrition, local news agency Antara reported.

'Meanwhile, the number of children under the red line (the required nutrition level) is 716,317,' governor Zainul Madji said.

The provincial administration has encouraged a more varied diet among children and pregnant women to deal with the malnutrition problem.

The government has introduced maize, cassava and sweet potato besides rice as the main staple food there.

West Nusa Tenggara is expected to produce around 900,000 tonnes of rice this year but will only consume 555,000 tonnes, leaving surplus of more than 300,000 tonnes.

'Therefore, a malnutrition problem in West Nusa Tenggara surprises the people because it enjoys a rice production surplus,' he said. -- AFP