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It's 'genetic': Lack of awareness makes stunting major health problem in Manggarai
A health expert has said that most people in remote areas consider stunting to be something “genetic”. Therefore, parents often consider their children healthy, even when they experience impaired growth.
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Growing up: A 1000 Hari volunteer explains the features of a height chart to a mother in Rinca, on the fringes of Komodo National Park in East Nusa Tenggara. The province's stunting prevalence is high at 43 percent. (Gumilang Aryo Sahadewo/-)
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tunting is a serious health problem in Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara, with some 43 percent of children aged below 5 prone to impaired growth and development, according to a 2018 research study conducted by the Health Ministry.
Though the figure is a significant decrease compared to that of 2013, which estimated 58 percent of children were prone to stunting, any rate of stunting over 20 percent is considered by the World Health Organization to be very serious.
A staff member of the Manggarai Health Agency’s community health division, Moina Sagala, said that, based on her office’s Nutrition Status Monitoring system, the figures had fluctuated in recent years, from 23.2 percent in 2016 to 50.3 percent in 2017, and back down to 20 percent as of July this year.
"Of some 25,000 children below 5 years old that we measured, more than 3,000 were categorized as suffering from stunting" Moina said.
Tarsisius Hurmali, the director of Yayasan Ayo Indonesia, a foundation that has been focusing on stunting in Manggarai, blamed the issue on people’s lack of knowledge about stunting.
Humali said most people in remote areas thought that stunting was something “genetic” that could not be changed. Therefore, parents often consider their children healthy, even when they experience impaired growth.
Other factors that have led to stunting in Manggarai include a lack of awareness on the importance of health and nutritional needs. “In hinterland areas people even believe that health comes from God, ancestors and spirits,” Humali said.
