T

he government is mobilizing the human and financial resources of the nation to combat stunting in children as the prevalence of stunted growth in the country remains high.

One of the world’s 20 leading industrialized and emerging economies, Indonesia is nevertheless among 47 countries scoring worst for stunting in children and iron deficiency anemia in women of reproductive age, according to a new report released by the National Team for the Acceleration of Poverty Reduction (TNP2K) on Aug. 9.

The other countries include Angola, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Haiti, Malawi, Nepal and Timor-Leste.

“Our latest data show that around 9 million, or 37 percent, of under five-year-old children in Indonesia suffer from stunting. As of today, the figure has not changed dramatically,” said TNP2K executive secretary Bambang Widianto, referring to the 2013 Basic Health Research (Riskesdas) data.

He said the government was bringing together 12 ministries and institutions in a joint program to push down the rate of stunted growth.

Scheduled to run for two years from 2017 to 2018, the program comprises five pillars, which will strengthen the country’s efforts in handling stunted growth with greater involvement of all stakeholders.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla are set to directly supervise the program, which will be focused on the 100 regencies and municipalities with the most severe stunting problem across 34 provinces.

Bambang said meeting nutritional requirements for mothers and children was important. The government and other stakeholders would also pay close attention to improving the environment and supporting elements, because they played a significant role in reducing stunting in children.

“Hence, the program will not only ensure greater access for children and mothers to sufficient nutrition but also focus on improvements of their surrounding, such as related to sanitation and clean water supply,” said Bambang.

Stunting is a condition in which a child under five years of age fails to reach his or her linear growth potential because of chronic undernutrition. The chronic nutritional deficiency usually happens since a baby is still in the womb and during the two first years of his or her life — or the so-called first 1,000 days of life.

Signs of stunted growth typically appear after a child reaches the age of two years.

Stunting will have an impact on cognitive development, resulting in lower intelligence. A stunted child will be more prone to diseases and may suffer a decline in productivity in his or her old age.

Stunting remains a major public health problem in Indonesia, a country that is now a G20 member and has recovered from numerous global economic crises.

International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID) senior program manager Hamong Santono said the government had failed to balance the country’s economic development with the state of public health.

“That means our economic growth is still of lesser quality, because, ideally, economic improvements would be enjoyed by all societal elements,” Hamong told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Puan Maharani said the government would spend around Rp 60 trillion (US$4.49 billion) from the state budget to cover the stunting reduction program, preventing the problem by focussing on the first 1,000 days of a person’s life.

“Our target is to reduce the stunting prevalence to 28 percent in 2019,” she said in a statement published on the ministry’s website. Puan has been appointed as the coordinator of the program.

Separately, Health Minister Nila F. Moelok said the government still needed to do extra efforts, because according to its current nutrition status, Indonesia’s stunting prevalence remained high.

“The WHO demands that we push down our stunting prevalence to below 20 percent,” Nila said.

She lauded Kalla’s initiative to integrate 12 ministries and institutions in the fight against stunting in children. The Health Ministry was working on a campaign titled “Ini Isi Piringku” (This is what’s on my plate), which calls for a balanced dietary intake, she added.

“It’s impossible for the Health Ministry to handle this problem alone. We need to cooperate with the Agriculture Ministry, the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry, the National Development Planning Ministry and others,” Nila said.

Bogor Agricultural University nutritionist Soekirman said the government’s stunting reduction program would not be effective unless it was supported by efforts against poverty.

“Stunting is closely associated with poverty. Eradicating poverty is therefore a prerequisite to reduce stunting,” Soekirman said. (yon)