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WB, Tanoto Foundation and Gates Foundation collaborate to reduce stunting rate in Indonesia
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A mother carrying her baby seeks advice from counselors at an integrated health service post (Posyandu) in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, on Oct. 11, 2017. (JP/Severianus Endi)
T
he World Bank, the Tanoto Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are working closely with the Indonesian government to reduce the high stunting rate in the country by donating US$4 million through the Multi Donor Trust Fund for Indonesia Human Capital Acceleration.
A statement issued by the World Bank and obtained by The Jakarta Post on Wednesday said the trust fund would operate, from 2020 to 2024, under the guidance of a steering committee consisting of representatives from the Indonesian government, the World Bank and both foundations.
Hari Menon, the South and Southeast Asia lead for the Bill Gates Foundation, hoped the fund would strengthen support for the Indonesian government in accelerating the reduction of stunting and "giving millions of children the opportunity to have a bright future".
World Bank program leader for human development Camilla Holmemo said stunting prevention would play a significant role in improving the country's human capital.
Read also: Collaborative efforts key in reducing stunting: Observers
Tanoto Foundation CEO Satrijo Tanudjojo echoed Holmemo’s statement.
"[The trust fund] is one of the several initiatives the foundation undertakes for human capital development, as a contribution to the government of Indonesia in achieving its sustainable development goals," Satrijo said.
According to data from the 2018 National Health Survey (Riskesdas), Indonesia performed poorly on stunting prevention, as three out of 10 children under the age of 5 experienced stunting in the country.
The figure is quite high considering that the World Health Organization has set a maximum limit for stunting tolerance at 20 percent, or one-fifth of all existing toddlers.
To overcome the challenge, the country has become "one of the early adopter countries of the World Bank's Human Capital Project" to develop various programs including the National Strategy to Accelerate Stunting Prevention, in which it delivered a multi-sectoral package of priority nutrition interventions, said the statement.
