Govt to focus on first 1,000 days of life to tackle malnutrition

To improve the nutrition of the Indonesian people, the Health Ministry says it will carry out a program called “First 1,000 Days for the Country”, which will focus on providing better nutrition for babies in their first two years of life.

“The program starts from the fetus inside the womb until the child is two-years-old,” minister Dr. Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih said on Wednesday.

She said that a person’s food intake in the first 1,000 days of their life greatly effected their future growth, both physically and intellectually. She added, however, that the focus on nutrition should continue further on in life.

“It does not end at two years old. It should progress to the development programs for babies, teenagers and pregnant mothers,” she said.

Endang said that the program had received Rp 700 billion funding from the state budget and international aid. This year, the program will be carried out in six provinces: West Java, East Java, Gorontalo, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara and West Sulawesi.(awd)