STUNTING ERADICATION CRUCIAL TO ACHIEVE GOLDEN GENERATION by Fardah

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.

MINISTRIES JOIN HANDS IN FIGHT AGAINST STUNTING by Fardah

 

Jakarta, 26/3 /2022 ANTARA) - The Indonesian government has been fighting against stunting, which is characterized by growth failure in children under the age of two due to long periods of malnutrition, for decades.

The prolonged fight has been crucial for the fate of the nation because stunting poses a long-term danger for the future of children as it hinders brain development, causes mental degradation, and reduces studying capability.

Other impacts of stunting on children include a decline in cognitive capability, suboptimal body posture during adulthood, and increased risk of chronic disease with age such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity, Professor Rini Sekartini from the University of Indonesia's Faculty of Medicine noted during a webinar on stunting recently.

Stunting eradication efforts have involved various ministries, institutions, and relevant stakeholders. The fight, however, has been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years.

"COVID-19 has a big contribution in delaying stunting eradication. Several regions such as East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) have experienced a drastic increase in stunting cases," Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture, Muhadjir Effendy, said while accompanying President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) to a visit to NTT province on March 24, 2022.

Data from the 2021 Indonesias Nutrition Status Study (SSGI) place 15 districts in NTT in red status, with the stunting prevalence rate of more than 30 percent.

The districts comprise South Central Timor, North Central Timor, Alor, Southwest Sumba, East Manggarai, Kupang, Rote Ndao, Belu, West Manggarai, West Sumba, Central Sumba, Sabu Raijua, Manggarai, Lembata, and Malaka.

Five of these districts are in the top 10 regions with the highest stunting prevalence in Indonesia out of 246 districts or cities in 12 provinces that are being prioritized for accelerating stunting reduction.

Of the 12 prioritized provinces, 7 provinces have recorded the highest rate of stunting in the country: East Nusa Tenggara (37.8 percent), West Sulawesi (33.8 percent), Aceh (33.2 percent), West Nusa Tenggara (31.4 percent), Southeast Sulawesi (30 percent), West Kalimantan (29.8 percent), and Central Sulawesi (29.7 percent).

 

INDONESIA REDOUBLES EFFORTS TO REDUCE CHILDHOOD STUNTING by Fardah

Jakarta, Aug  25, 2021 - Indonesia's children are its future and its most valuable asset. In fact, the present condition of children under the age of five is a reflection of Indonesia’s future.

 

Therefore, the government is eager to make sure that the younger generation grows healthy and becomes a golden generation by prioritizing and accelerating a drastic reduction in stunting rate among Indonesian children.

 

The national stunting rate, recorded at 37 percent in 2013, declined to 30.8 percent in 2018, and 27.6 percent in 2019. Currently, the stunting rate is around 27.7 percent. The government has set a target of reducing the stunting rate to 14 percent by 2024.

 

Four Indonesian districts have continued to report a very high number of cases of stunting, a growth disorder caused by chronic malnutrition in children — Jeneponto (41.3 percent) and Bantaeng districts (21 percent) of South Sulawesi, Minahasa district (38.6 percent) of North Sulawesi, and South Nias district (57 percent) of North Sumatra.

 

However, the government has been facing a huge challenge in the implementation of the stunting reduction program owing to the COVID-19 pandemic that started in early 2020.

 

"The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a challenge in reducing the stunting rates. Achievements from the last seven years must be maintained to achieve the 14-percent target by the end of 2024," Vice President Ma'ruf Amin noted at the virtual National Coordination Meeting on stunting prevention on August 23, 2021.

 

The government is determined that despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the stunting reduction program continues and is expedited, and has asked all regional heads to assess all work programs, activities, and local government budgets. 

Eye on human capital, Indonesia ramps up fight against stunting by Fardah

Jakarta, January 30, 2021 (Antara) -  The Joko Widodo administration has set human resource development as its priority program for the second presidential term from 2019-2024.

The targeted investment in human resources will not just cover education, but also medical care since good health helps people realize their potential and ward off illness.

One of the priority issues for the program involves grooming a healthy younger generation, or a golden generation, for “onward Indonesia”, a term that refers to Widodo’s ministerial line-up.

The government considers the current condition of children under the age of five as a reflection of Indonesia’s future. Hence, the administration is prioritizing drastically reducing stunting rate among Indonesian children.

Children with stunted growth “are those whose height-for-age is more than two standard deviations below the WHO Child Growth Standards median”, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Therefore, “addressing the stunting problem has become a priority national program to prepare a golden generation for onward Indonesia when Indonesia celebrates its centennial anniversary in 2045”, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture, Muhadjir Effendy, said last year.

During the first plenary meeting of the Indonesia Onward Cabinet 2019-2024 on October 24, 2019, Widodo had ordered his Health Minister to reduce the incidence of stunting among Indonesian children.

Data shows the stunting rate in Indonesia dropped to 27.67 percent in 2019 from 30.8 percent in 2018. The government has outlined a target to reduce the prevalence in the country to under 20 percent by 2024, as per the United Nations target.

Stunting is a global problem and although important progress has been made to reduce it, its prevalence is declining too slowly, with levels remaining unacceptably high.

In April, 2019, United Nations agencies reported that 149 million children under five, or almost 22 percent of all children in the age range, were affected by the condition in 2018, which deprived many of the opportunity to achieve their full potential before they even reached school age.

In 2018, more than half of all stunted children under the age of five lived in Asia and more than one-third lived in Africa.

INDONESIA PRIORITIZES FIGHT FOR HEALTHY GOLDEN GENERATION by Fardah

Senin, 4 Nov 2019 22:23

Daerah : Jakarta

By Fardah
Jakarta, 4/11 (Antara) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has made the health and development of Indonesias human resources, especially children, as one of the priorities of his second-term five-year administration that will end in 2024.
Investment in human resources is not just regarding education but also medical care, because the health of a person helps him to realize his potential optimally, besides the ability to fight illness.
During the first plenary meeting of the Indonesia Onward Cabinet 2019-2024 on October 24, 2019, President Widodo ordered the newly appointed Health Minister Terawan Agus to reduce the cases of stunting among Indonesian children.
The stunting rate in Indonesia has been reduced to 27.67 percent this year, from 30.8 percent in 2018. The government has outlined a target to reduce the prevalence in the country to under 20 percent by 2024, as per the United Nations target.

Currently, child stunting has been observed in several provinces, including East Nusa Tenggara and East Java.
This condition among children under the age of five is a reflection of Indonesias future. The issue is now a government priority, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani had once said.
Therefore, the government has prioritized the issue to prepare a golden generation for onward Indonesia.
"Addressing the stunting problem has become a priority national program to prepare a golden generation for onward Indonesia when Indonesia celebrates its centennial anniversary in 2045. The stunting rate is now still fluctuating," Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy said in a statement November 1, 2019.