Efforts To Prevent Stunting In Central Aceh

JAKARTA, Feb 1 (Antara) - Good planning in meeting child nutrition is part of efforts to address problems related to stunting and malnutrition in Central Aceh district, Aceh Province. Commemorating the 58th National Nutrition Day recently, Central Aceh Vice District Head Firdaus called on all parties to play a role in preparing the young generation who are free from stunting. The whole family as the front guard in the district is also invited to continue to monitor and prevent the stunting problem as much as possible. Stunting is a problem of chronic malnutrition caused by the lack of nutrient intake in a long time due to feeding that is not in accordance with nutritional needs. Hence, Firdaus remarked that people of all ages ranging from teenagers, women of childbearing age, pregnant women, and toddlers in Central Aceh should keep their food and nutrient intake to avoid stunting. Indonesia is ranked fifth in stunting in children due to three factors, namely parents' lack of attention to the child's nutritional intake, poor sanitation, and poor handling of infections in children. Stunting is experienced by children in 47 countries, including Indonesia, with the indicator still referring to a comparison between weight and age. "With a good nutritional intake, we will have a healthy body, because the consumption of healthy nutrition is one way to prevent the presence of all kinds of diseases," Firdaus explained. According to him, local government support will be especially meaningful for the alert campaign against stunting in Central Aceh. In light of this, all Public Health Centers (Puskesmas) in Central Aceh District are expected to have nutrition experts who can handle the problem of nutrition directly in the community. Many modern families in this era entrust children to domestic workers, without paying attention to their nutrition, due to parents' busy professional works. In addition, children also become vulnerable to worm disease due to poor sanitation that affects nutrient intake. The issue can be handled by changing the pattern of childcare behavior, following a healthy lifestyle, and undergoing immunization. The high number of stunting cases in Indonesia is very apprehensive, considering that Indonesia, as an agrarian country, is expected to be capable of fulfilling the needs of food without having to import. Countries with limited agricultural land, such as Japan and Singapore, in contrast, do not have food problem although they still depend on imported food, Director of the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF) Sri Enny Hartati explained. Nutrition issue must be immediately handled, she said, as it can threaten human resources in the future. If the future generation is weak, they will find it difficult to compete with other countries' human resources and remain a burden for the economy. The future economy will be based on innovation and creativity that require smart human resources in order to compete with other countries. This is why the government is expected to handle the issue of stunting quickly. It is important for the government, community, and private cooperation to address the issue. The government has launched programs to reduce the prevalence rates of stunting in children below two years from 37 percent in 2013 to 28 percent in 2019, among them, by preventing stunting in the first one thousand days of life, from fetus to age two. In addition, women empowerment programs, which have been carried out to address this issue, are done through integrated health services posts (posyandu). Such programs are very appropriate to combat malnutrition, but must be well integrated in order to provide optimal nutrition to toddlers. The government of Indonesia is gearing up for enhancing labor-intensive program across the country in 2018 to boost the economy in rural areas and address problems of stunting and malnutrition. In 2018, the government has set the target of implementing labor-intensive program in 1,000 villages in 100 districts as a whole. Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Puan Maharani has stated that a total of 100 districts with 1000 villages were selected as targets for the implementation of labor-intensive programs, because the government wanted to intervene and solve malnutrition and stunting problems in rural areas. Maharani explained that stunted growth did not only affect physical growth but also inhibits the growth of the brain that affects the level of intelligence, susceptibility to disease and decreased productivity. Hence, she has revealed that the government was striving to promote a balanced nutrition program involving 12 ministries and agencies. The government has allocated Rp60 trillion to overcome childhood stunting caused by chronic malnutrition. Almost 12 ministries and institutions were involved in the efforts to overcome the problem of stunting, and the total budget from these 12 ministries and institutions could reach Rp60 trillion, according to Maharani. The government will continue to improve the nutrition of infants and toddlers, with the hope that there will no longer be stunted growth in children. The future of the nation depends on children and their health, and the government did not want to create a nation with stunted children. According to the Health Affairs Ministry, around 37 percent, or approximately 9 million children, under five in Indonesia have stunted growth and such cases are spread throughout the country. Currently, Indonesia is one of the countries with high prevalence of stunting compared to that of other middle-income countries. The government had earlier named 50 districts and cities as the target for programs to tackle the problem of childhood stunting. However, the number of districts has increased to 100. Starting from January 2018, the government, through related ministries and institutions, will implement cash labor-intensive program in 100 villages in 10 districts as a priority.