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Jakarta Post

Moving toward healthy diets in a time of recovery from pandemic

An assessment in slum areas of Jakarta undertaken in 2020 (FAO, UNICEF, WFP 2020) revealed that over 80 percent of the households experienced reduced incomes and almost one quarter of them moderate or severe food insecurity.

Christa Räder
Jakarta
Sat, October 16, 2021

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Moving toward healthy diets in a time of recovery from pandemic In this file photo taken on May 31, 2021 personnel of the world class Danish restaurant Noma work in the kitchen in Copenhagen. (AFP/Thibault Savary)

W

ith information on healthy diets and lifestyles abounding on the internet and in other media, an increasing number of Indonesians have become aware of the importance of consuming a diversified healthy diet that meets nutrient requirements and is part of a healthy lifestyle preventing longer-term medical conditions.

But not necessarily do all sections of the population actually consume or can afford to consume a healthy diet. Many factors play into human consumption behavior, not least their economic condition.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its economic consequences have made it much more difficult for the poorer sections of the population to afford a healthy diet. While prices of essential food commodities have remained largely stable over the past 1.5 year the income or purchasing power, especially of the poorest 40 percent of the population has been significantly affected. Now it has become much harder for them to afford a more diverse healthy food basket.

From the World Bank’s High Frequency Monitoring (2020-21) we know that the measures to contain COVID-19 have predominantly affected the incomes of the poorest 40 percent and those of woman-headed households.

An assessment in slum areas of Jakarta undertaken in 2020 (FAO, UNICEF, WFP 2020) revealed that over 80 percent of the households experienced reduced incomes and almost one quarter of them moderate or severe food insecurity. Households with children under 5 years for whom good nutrition is most important had to reduce their purchases of nutritious foods such as meat, vegetables and fruits in order to make ends meet.

While the urban poor have been most affected there was an estimated 47 percent poverty increase in rural areas as well. The effect of the purchasing power loss on the affordability of a healthy diet that meets nutritional needs has definitely been big in remote provinces such as East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).

For illustration: WFP’s ongoing “Fill the Nutrient Gap analysis” reveals that in Jakarta a 20 percent loss in income would increase the non-affordability of a healthy, nutritious diet by 11 percentage points (the proportion of households that could not afford the lowest cost nutritious diet would increase from 7 percent to 18 percent); in urban NTT a 20 percent loss in income would increase the non-affordability by17 percentage points (from 48 percent to 65 percent), and in rural NTT by 20 percentage points (from 34 percent to 54 percent.

And if actual dietary preferences were also taken into account, in addition to nutritional needs, the non-affordability of the healthy diet would be even higher.

All hopes are now on a speedy longer-term economic recovery, with expected growth rates of up to 4.4 percent in 2021 and up to 5 percent in 2022 (World Bank). Nevertheless, a large number of the country’s poorest, urban and rural, will continue to rely heavily on social protection measures which were significantly scaled up in terms of number of people covered and transfer amounts at the start of the pandemic in 2020 and are in place until now.

The recent Food Systems Summit Dialogues which were undertaken in Indonesia in preparation of the global United Nations Food Systems Summit (Sept. 23, 2021) resulted in the formulation of a “Strategic National Pathway for Food Systems Transformation”. Food literacy, a campaign on healthy food, improved diets, food fortification and the integration of healthy and nutritious food into the social safety net system as well as the reduction of food loss and waste play a prominent role in it in addition to comprehensive plans to strengthen, improve, and transform food production, processing and marketing systems and their resilience with increased support to smallholders as key actors in this change and on increased multi-stakeholder partnerships.

In this regard the government of Indonesia’s choice of either joining or expressing interest in a number of important coalitions emerging from the Food Systems Summit is highly encouraging: Achieving Zero Hunger, Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems for Children & All, Food is never Waste, Resilient Local Food Supply Chains, to name only a few.

While the economy is expected to recover in Indonesia and provide improved household purchasing power, also to the poor, it will now be fundamental to continue and expedite the work in the following priority areas:

Addressing the persisting high levels of child stunting through information on improved maternal and child care.

Mothers and caregivers across the country must continue to get access to easy-to-understand high quality information on pre-and post-natal care, exclusive breastfeeding for children under 6 months of age and diverse and nutritious complementary foods after 6 months. These messages which are disseminated at the posyandu (local health posts) need to be reinforced through multiple channels and also reach the poorest families including those who receive regular cash transfers under the Family Hope (PKH) social protection program of the Social Affairs Ministry.

Respective nutrition training for the local PKH facilitators will be essential so that they can pass on the right messages in the right form in order to be effectively heard by their clients.

Providing knowledge on healthy diets and lifestyles to all age groups through respective education at school, and to adolescents, mothers, fathers, and other caregivers through various means including social media.

The existing school health program (UKS) of the Ministries of Education, Health, Home Affairs and Religious Affairs provides an excellent opportunity for equipping the next generation with important knowledge and practices on nutrition and a healthy lifestyle. The “My Plate” message of eating as much vegetables as rice, complemented by sources of protein and fruits is at the core, together with drinking water instead of sweetened beverages, and physical exercise.

Similarly, adolescents and adults can easily access health and nutrition information at school and online from a Health Ministry website (GERMAS) on their smartphones. This is relevant for all, but needs to be also tailored and made accessible to poorer sections and rural populations. Similarly, all those households which receive cash transfers for food purchases under the staple food (Sembako) e-warung program of the Social Affairs Ministry need to become knowledgeable on the benefits of diversified healthy diets.

Providing further opportunities of giving access to affordable and nutritious foods, also to the poor..

As micronutrients, i.e. vitamins and minerals, are often missing in the diet and large parts of the population lack the purchasing power to buy required amounts of vegetables and fruits, the fortification of rice can provide an excellent means of offering most of the required micronutrients at marginally higher costs than normal rice.

It is highly commendable that the government under the leadership of the National Development Planning Agency is pursuing this opportunity. Making fortified rice available through the Sembako e-warung program can reach tens of millions from the poorest sections of society and complement the already established fortification of vegetable oil and flour.

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The writer is country representative of the United Nations World Food Programme in Indonesia.

 

 

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