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The role of women in ensuring nutritional food security quality
Indonesia is facing a triple burden of malnutrition in which undernutrition coexists with overnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies.
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Baby care: Family welfare movement volunteers measure the height of a girl below five years old in an integrated health post in the Bougenvile area of Depok, West Java on Sept. 7. The government has set a target of reducing the rate of child stunting from the current 27.4 to 14 percent by 2024. (Antara/Yulius Satria Wijaya)
In Sukadami village in Cikarang, West Java, just 50 kilometers from Jakarta, Karimah, a vegetable seller, struggles to provide enough food for her children. Despite her best efforts, her youngest daughter Najwa Syaqila is affected by stunting.
Sukadami has the highest level of stunting in the greater metropolitan area. There are children like Najwa all over Indonesia. At the beginning of 2020, an estimated 7 million children under five years old were stunted.
In Tangkil village, Bogor, also in West Java, rice fields stretch as far as the eye can see. At first glance, it would seem that food security is a non-issue here. But a closer look reveals a different story. Despite the abundance of rice and being ranked 12th in the National Food Security Index2, child stunting rates in West Java remain high at 20.2 percent.
The story of Karimah and Najwa Syaqila in Sukadami village is just one example of the many families across Indonesia struggling with food insecurity and malnutrition. While the issue of stunting in children is prevalent across the country, it is one consequence of the broader challenge of food security, which is being exacerbated by the impact of climate change. The situation might even be worsened by the low levels of women’s education in the region – a key variable that can impact food security and nutrition.
In West Java, women face a significant barrier to social and economic progress: limited access to education. The head of Statistics Indonesia (BPS) West Java branch, Dyah Anugrah Kuswardarata, told a webinar last week the average length of school for millennial women in the province of West Java was only 10.11 years, or the same as junior high school and high school education only up to grade 2. This low education level among women contributes to the high rate of poverty and unemployment in the region, and also to the health and environmental awareness of issues such as climate change.
Climate change is no longer a distant threat, it is a harsh reality that is already affecting food security in many parts of the world, including Indonesia. The impact of climate change on food security has led to a significant reduction in crop yields, increased food prices and decreased food accessibility, all of which have a severe impact on children’s nutrition and development.
Changes in temperature and rainfall patterns are impacting crop yields, while more frequent droughts, heat waves and floods pose an increasing threat to the country’s development. The World Bank ranked Indonesia 12th among 35 countries that face high mortality risks due to multiple increasing hazards, including tsunamis, floods, landslides, droughts and earthquakes.
