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Stunting declines nationwide, but underlying risks remain
The Health Ministry has reported a decline in the national stunting rate among children, from 21.5 percent in 2023 to 19.8 percent last year, marking progress toward reaching President Prabowo Subianto’s 14 percent target although experts warn substantial efforts are still needed to maintain progress.
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A level head: A volunteer measures the diameter of a child’s head on Jan. 18, 2023, at an integrated health services post (Posyandu) in Gelogor hamlet in Denpasar, Bali, as part of the country’s fight against stunting and malnutrition in children.
(Antara/Nyoman Hendra Wibowo)
The Health Ministry has reported a decline in the national stunting rate among children, from 21.5 percent in 2023 to 19.8 percent last year, marking progress toward reaching President Prabowo Subianto’s 14 percent target although experts warn substantial efforts are still needed to maintain progress.
The updated figure was released earlier this week during the launching of the latest National Nutritional Status Survey (SSGI), which collected data from approximately 345,000 households with infants in 2024.
Although the 19.8 percent prevalence is 0.3 percentage points lower than the 2024 target set by the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), it still represents an estimated 4.48 million newborns and infants affected by stunting, including around 925,000 new cases last year.
“If 4.48 million children today have below-average intellectual potential because of stunting and malnutrition, it would be a tremendous loss for Indonesia,” Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said during the launch event, Monday.
To accelerate progress, Budi urged health workers to intensify efforts under the national stunting prevention strategy. The government aims to reduce prevalence further to 18.8 percent by the end of this year, and ultimately reach the 14.2 percent target by 2029.
Read also: Indonesia launches ambitious free-meal program to combat stunting
The ministry’s strategy focuses on six high-priority provinces, which collectively account for over half of the country’s stunting cases. They are Banten, West Java, Central Java, East Java, North Sumatra and East Nusa Tenggara.
