Jakarta (ANTARA) – Head of the Presidential Staff Office (KSP) Moeldoko stated that the central government, regional governments, and all stakeholders should synergize to achieve the target of reducing Indonesia’s childhood stunting prevalence to 14 percent by 2024.
“The president has set the target. Thus, the central government and regional governments must synergize. The governments cannot work alone, so the participation of all stakeholders is needed,” he noted in a statement received on Tuesday.
While opening the Stunting Heroes Awards 2022 in Serang District, Banten, on Monday, Moeldoko highlighted that stunting is a pressing problem that should be addressed.
Handling stunting is essential, as Indonesia’s stunting prevalence will determine the competitiveness of its human resources in future.
To this end, he noted that specific and sensitive interventions are deemed necessary to handle stunting.
Moeldoko explained that specific interventions are those related to improving nutrition and health. Meanwhile, sensitive interventions are in the form of support for reducing stunting rates, such as providing clean water and sanitation.
“If we are still burdened by stunting prevalence, we cannot compete quickly at the global level. However, if we handle it together quickly and responsively, then the risk will disappear,” he said.
The KSP head lauded the Stunting Heroes Awards 2022 held by the Banten office of the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) and a mass media company. He assessed that the event was a breakthrough that should be adopted by other regions in the country.
Based on results of the 2021 Indonesian Nutritional Status (SSGI) study quoted by the Presidential Staff Office, Banten Province has a stunting prevalence of 24.5 percent, or in the moderate category. However, some 268,158 stunting cases were recorded in Banten or the fifth highest in Indonesia.
To this end, Banten has become one of the 12 provinces that the government had prioritized for accelerating stunting reduction.
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