Jakarta, 20/6/2022 (ANTARA) - Indonesia is
striving to achieve a golden generation in 2045, or on the 100th
anniversary of its independence, but faces the problem of stunting as a
hurdle to be first overcome to achieve the goal.
Vice
President Maruf Amin, during a launch of the book, titled "Moving
Forward: Local Initiatives in Reducing Stunting in Indonesia," recently
described a golden generation as a generation that is able to bring
progress to Indonesia.
Stunting, which is characterized by
growth failure in children under the age of two due to long periods of
malnutrition, will create a demographic burden generation, as it has the
potential to endanger the future of the nation, in terms of education,
health, productivity, and the economy.
To ensure realizing
the national goal of achieving a golden generation, the government, in
2018, had decided to accelerate the efforts to reduce the stunting rate,
particularly among children under the age of five years.
To
this end, the government has formulated the National Strategy for
Accelerating Stunting Reduction (Stranas Stunting), which emphasizes the
strengthening of investment in the first one thousand days of human
life.
Amin, who has been tasked with leading the national
stunting eradication efforts, claimed that the strategy has helped to
reduce the stunting rate, from 30.8 percent in 2018 to 24.4 percent in
2021.
This achievement is based on hard work, smart work, and
collaborative work from all parties, both at the central and regional
government levels," he affirmed.
The government has allocated funds amounting to Rp5.6 trillion, or US$378.3 million, for accelerating the maternal mortality and stunting reduction program.
The government has set a target to reduce the prevalence of stunting rates to 14 percent by 2024. Hence, to achieve the target, the nation must be able to reduce the stunting rate by at least three percent annually.
Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy explained that based on data from the Indonesian Under-five Children Nutrition Status Survey (SSGBI) in 2021, the prevalence of stunting is currently still at 24.4 percent, or 5.33 million children under five.
The first one thousand days of life is a golden period, so the minister highlighted the need for strengthening the dissemination of information and education in families, especially teen girls, who would one day embrace motherhood.
Teen girls need to eat balanced nutritious foods to maintain a healthy
body and avoid anemia. This is essential as a preventive effort to
prevent their babies from being born stunted.
Effendy called
to thoroughly handle child stunting, as Indonesia will enjoy a
demographic dividend that must be utilized optimally.
In
addition, educating future brides on several issues, such as
reproductive health, family health, family life, and family economy, is
crucial.
Hence, the stunting reduction efforts gained momentum when the country commemorated National Family Day (Harganas) this year.
The National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN), which is
in the front guard in the fight to reduce stunting, explained that
National Family Day 2022 provided a platform for consolidation and
coordination of the Stunting Reduction Acceleration Team (TPPK) at the
district/city and provincial levels.
BKKBNs Deputy for
Prosperous Families and Family Empowerment Nopian Andusti remarked that
the national celebration of the 29th National Family Day, themed "Let's
Prevent Stunting So That Families Are Stunting Free," will be organized
in Medan, North Sumatra, on June 29, 2022.
Andusti noted that
the event will feature several activities conducted by BKKBN, such as
the Bapak Asuh Anak Stunting, a program that aims to involve fathers in
taking care of stunted children; Sepekan Elsimil, Semarak Kampung KB
(birth control in villages); and the Pelayanan KB Serentak Sejuta
Akseptor (the Simultaneous Birth Control Service with Million
Acceptors).
Regional heads, who excel in controlling stunting
rates in their regions, will receive awards as a mark of appreciation
by BKKBN for striving together to build quality families.
The
agency had organized a Stunting Case Audit Coaching in last May in
three provinces as part of the efforts to accelerate stunting reduction.
The coaching focused on efforts to prevent infants from being born
stunted, starting from the audit of prospective brides, pregnant, or
postpartum women and of children under two and those under five, who are
at risk of stunting, Head of BKKBN Hasto Wardoyo explained.
In addition to supporting the selection of stunting cases, auditing
stunting cases is expected to open opportunities for consultation and
coordination among policymakers, program implementers, and experts
regarding activities.
Professional organizations partaking in
the audit of stunting cases included the Indonesian Pediatric Society
(IDAI), Indonesian Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (POGI),
Indonesian Nutrition Higher Education Association (AIPGI), and
Indonesian Psychologists Association (Himpsi).
According to
the 2021 family data collection (PK 21), the number of families at risk
of stunting in Indonesia had reached 21.9 million.
To support
the smooth running of audits, the agency has also formed special teams
to accelerate stunting reduction, starting from the provincial to
village levels.
The BKKBN has readied 600 thousand personnel
in 200 thousand Family Assistance Teams to disseminate information and
provide services to families in Indonesia to prevent child stunting.
Moreover, it has provided education on the dangers of stunting to
adolescents in Indonesia through the Elsimil, or the Ready for Marriage
and Pregnancy Electronic Application.
The app, which can be
downloaded through Play Store, aims to help prospective grooms and
brides as well as adolescents better understand the importance of
stunting prevention.
Basically, all-out efforts are being
made in the fight against stunting by involving various stakeholders,
including relevant ministries, institutions, local governments,
universities, and NGOs.
Given those serious efforts, Head of
the Presidential Staff Office (KSP) Moeldoko was upbeat that Indonesia
would be able to bring the childhood stunting prevalence rate to below
14 percent by 2024, in line with the improvement in handling efforts.
"Currently, 600 thousand personnel of the Nusantara Family Assistance
(teams) are ready to carry out the strategy for stunting reduction.
Thus, I am optimistic that President Jokowi's (Joko Widodo's) target of
reducing stunting to below 14 percent by 2024 can be achieved," he
affirmed.
He noted that at least three main actors play an
essential role in the handling of stunting: midwives, the Family Welfare
Movement (PKK) cadres, and family planning (KB) cadres.
The
KSP has been tasked with supervising and ensuring that national
strategic programs can run well. Stunting is one of the issues that has
become the main attention of the Jokowi-Amin administration.
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