Abstract
Objective The pandemic Covid 19 is a threat to human health globally. According to data from the official website of the World Health Organization (WHO), until the end of September 2020, the spread of the corona virus has reached more than 250 countries in the world, including Indonesia. Virtual training programs such as virtual exchanges, virtual short courses, guest lecturers, webinars and online courses, as well as public lectures, are useful if they can be continued after this pandemic period is over. This positive change is expected to be able to accelerate Indonesian education to be even better in line with the rapid development of information technology. More than 15 thousand family planning field workers in Indonesia outreach more than 65 million Indonesian families and BKKBN as one of the government agency should educate how to plan a better future, and it is more important during pandemic era to build family resiliency.
Methodology This paper is a best practice paper which reports what has been done in developing training for Indonesian family planning field workers during Pandemic Covid 19.
Conclusion Family Planning Field Workers should be able to accompany the main duties of the family in meeting the physical, spiritual, and social needs of family members, including the care of children, guiding children’s personality development, and meeting the emotional needs of family members. Family Planning Field Workers need to continue to develop themselves and look for online learning resources that are currently provided by the BKKBN and other institutions both domestically and abroad.
Introduction
Currently, countries in the world are still facing a new variant of the corona virus pandemic or what is often referred to as the COVID-19. This pandemic is a threat to human health globally. According to data from the official website of the World Health Organization (WHO), until the end of September 2020, the spread of the coronavirus has reached more than 250 countries in the world, including Indonesia. The number of infections from the coronavirus reach more than 33 million people in the world, with the death toll reaching one million. Several countries have now succeeded in escaping this pandemic , and several others have started to reduce their cases. Meanwhile, if viewed from the curve of transmission, Indonesia has not yet entered the peak of this pandemic, it is still far from showing signs of abating, and thousands of cases are increasing every day.
This virus epidemic has an impact on various aspects of people’s lives, from health, economy, business, food security, education, to social activities. The most visible aspect is economy. There have been many layoffs, many businesses have gone bankrupt, making it difficult for people to meet their daily needs. Quoted from Kompas (05/08/2020), Indonesia’s economy is currently experiencing growth of -5.32 percent in the second quarter of 2020. Meanwhile, when viewed from the education sector, currently, school and university students are still learning online, instead of in-class.
In fact, aside from these negative impacts, several momentums during this pandemic has been used to bring change for the better. Lots of new things are used as opportunities that can be taken advantage of after leaving this pandemic. Many things that have never existed in Indonesian history or in the world happened during this pandemic. The Covid-19 pandemic has led to new ideas and innovations. Of course, the most obvious is the use of technology. During this pandemic, technology plays an important role in people’s lives in the new normal order. In the trading industry, economic players convert from offline to online. With an online business, the impact of online business can also increase the use of digital payments. Technology is also of course useful in the health sector, both in relation to pandemic victims and other patients, both in terms of systems and on technical matters.
In addition, in the field of education, where there has been no face-to-face teaching during this pandemic, the role of technology is vital in online learning. School and university students use their own devices to study online. Initially, there were indeed many obstacles that arose from this online learning system. From the unpreparedness of teaching resources, to the ability of students to adapt to learning online.
However, over time the problem began to be resolved. Teachers are used to using online learning media. Educational institutions have also started to provide these online learning support facilities. In fact, there have been many innovations regarding teaching with an online system. Then what if this pandemic ends? What are the things that can be maintained and optimized?
Challenges for Indonesia’s Family Planning Target During Pandemic Covid 19
The National Population and Family Planning Board (Badan Kependudukan dan Keluarga Berencana Nasional/BKKBN) has the mandate to carry out the national priority agenda, especially in improving the quality of human resources. As we know, the quality of human resources is closely related to the degree of public health, especially the health of children and children under five as the nation’s future generation. The 2021 Government Budget Work Plan contains agenda for national medium-term development.
These seven items simultaneously answer the impact of the pandemic Covid-19 on the Indonesian national medium-term government plan target. The seven items are; strengthening economic resilience; regional development; human resource improvement; increasing mental revolution and cultural development; infrastructure strengthening; environmental development, disaster resilience, and climate change; and legal political stability and transformation of the public. The seven national priorities will support economic recovery and social reform which will remain integrated according to Government Budget Work Plan the theme for 2021.
One of the things that threaten the quality of the nation’s future human resources is stunting. In general, stunting is caused by three things. First, diet. Stunting is caused by low access to food in terms of food quantity, quality of nutrition, and also diversity of the food consumed. Second, parenting. Stunting is also influenced by behavioral aspects, especially in poor parenting practices in feeding practices for infants and toddlers. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct education on reproductive health and nutrition for adolescents as the forerunners of the family, so that expectant mothers understand the importance of meeting nutritional needs during pregnancy and stimulation of the fetus, as well as checking the quality of nutrition at least four times during pregnancy. In addition, it is also necessary to build awareness for giving birth in health facilities, initiating early breastfeeding by trying to get the baby to receive colostrum for breast milk, and the need for awareness to provide exclusive breastfeeding until the baby is six months old. Third, sanitation and access to clean water. Low access to health services, including access to sanitation and clean water, brings children closer to the risk of infectious diseases. For that, it is necessary to get used to washing hands with soap and running water, and not practicing open defecation carelessly.
The three main problems that trigger stunting are strongly influenced by the understanding of parents (especially mothers) in managing health and nutrition in their families. Therefore, education is needed in order to change behavior that can lead to improving the health of mothers and children so that the stunting problem can be gradually resolved. In order to overcome this stunting problem, BKKBN developed a program with 4 goals, namely: ensuring the availability of supplies in health facilities, increasing knowledge of families with babies under 2 years old about the first 1000 days of life through Integrative Holistic Family Development, improving services friendly to the elderly through seven dimensions of tough elderly people and long-term care assistance for the elderly with family education through Family Development for Elderly, and increased knowledge of young women as prospective mothers about health and nutrition education through the role of the Youth Counseling Information Center and Family Youth Resilience Development. The improvement of the family economy is also important as a solid pillar to ensure the continuity of meeting the needs of the family and is carried out through the Efforts to Increase Prosperous Family Income.
Dare to Change to Adapt In the New Era of Training Systems
Beyond this pandemic, there will be many opportunities to continue to improve the education system especially in family planning and population training in Indonesia as one of the non-formal ways in education. In distance learning, new innovations have emerged regarding this online learning system. Students and lecturers are also getting used to using learning tools such as Zoom, Google Meet, Skype, and other media. Apart from regular teaching activities, currently, many new programs are being offered the fruits of this pandemic. Examples of programs are virtual exchanges, virtual short courses, guest lecturers, webinars and online courses, and public lectures. These programs are promising to be continued after this pandemic.
One thing that can be used is to collaborate with overseas universities to carry out exchange student or facilitators programs. While this was usually done directly by visiting the relevant university, during this pandemic the program can be run with an online system. The student exchange program provides opportunities for students to experience learning at other schools/campuses, usually abroad. However, during a pandemic like this, of course, it is not the right time to conduct a direct student exchange program.
Today many universities offer online courses. This can be used by BKKBN to collaborate with overseas campuses to hold virtual student exchange programs. Apart from taking courses at other campuses to gain knowledge, it can also be done by inviting lecturers from other universities, both domestic and foreign, to teach in one of the courses. The system used is online via video conference, but there is still one lecturer from the university concerned to provide additional explanations to students. Therefore, the two lecturers collaborated in providing lecture material. This is useful in providing new insights for students. During a pandemic like this, many courses are conducted online. The course can come from an institution or from an educational institution. Examples are Coursera, Datacamp, and Duolingo, while universities that provide online course learning that can be accessed by the public include the University of Leeds and the University of California. On business management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on entrepreneurship, The University of Florida regarding financial planning, and courses from other world-leading universities can be checked on the respective university’s official website.
The advantage of joining online course programs is that you can get new knowledge and insights that are obtained easily and even for free. In addition, many programs provide assessment certificates when program participants have completed all the agendas in the related program. Likewise with the lecture system. Public lectures in normal situations are conducted by inviting lecturers or professors from campuses in other countries in the world. Of course, the costs are not cheap, especially for the accommodation. In a pandemic situation like this, it is possible to conduct public lectures online.
In collaboration with other campuses and training organizations, invite a professor or professional who is an expert in their field to fill in the virtual public lecture. Of course, this will be easier, and will reduce costs, even zero rupiahs. Therefore, behind the negative impact of this pandemic, there is actually a good side that can be maintained after this pandemic. All of these are positive realizations created by this pandemic as a momentum to create a transformation or change, especially in the field of education.
Virtual programs such as virtual exchanges, virtual short courses, guest lecturers, webinars and online courses, as well as public lectures, are useful if they can be continued after this pandemic period is over. This positive change is expected to be able to accelerate Indonesian education to be even better in line with the rapid development of information technology. More than 15 thousand family planning field workers in Indonesia outreach more than 65 million Indonesian families and BKKBN as one of the government agencies should educate how to plan a better future, and it is more important during the pandemic era to build family resiliency.
The Indonesian Family Planning Field Workers and Stunting Issue
Family planning Field Workers are the supervisors of 5 society-based organizations supporting family life cycle named education group for families who has children under five (in Bahasa term Bina Keluarga Balita/BKB), which are established by BKKBN to educate and maintain the groups for family education support who are the main spearheads in society who directly intersect with cadres and families. Family planning extension workers are expected to continue learning to improve self-competence due to the dynamic movement in society, especially related to issues of the human life cycle. Online Training for family field workers during the Pandemic Covid 19, the opportunities for increasing human resource competence are limited through face-to-face meetings. The ability to master Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is not something that can be negotiated anymore and is one of the basic competencies that a training facilitator must have in order to facilitate the current needs of society. Education and training that have been carried out by the center for family planning training, Provincial education training Centers, and also training centers currently in 8 regions (Bogor, Garut, Cirebon, Banyumas, Ambarawa, Pati, Jember, and Malang) are transforming quickly to respond to today’s challenges and organize training based in the network online which is expected to help answer the need for increased human resources.
The curriculum compiled by the facilitators (widyaiswara) is an adaptation of those implemented by the State Administration Institute which is adapted to field conditions in the community and also adapts to the conditions of the various ICT capabilities of Family Planning Field Workers. The existence of an ICT study group which is commanded by the Family Planning Field Workers Association (Ikatan Penyuluh KB/IPeKB) in each area is a solution for Family Planning Field Workers who have difficulties in their ICT capabilities. Training needs to continue to collaborate with IPeKB in helping family planning field workers to prepare themselves in dealing with problems in society and stunting/ stunting in science needs to be prevented from themselves before they can provide knowledge and solutions in the community. Family Planning Field Workers are agents of change in society and the family which is the smallest unit in a society where the family is a place to educate and shape the character and morals of children. The family is the first institution in the child’s life, where children learn, and play a role as social beings, so it is important for the growth and development of the Indonesian generation. In addition, through family development, it is hoped that it can overcome various problems such as vulnerable families, poor families, and newly poor family affected by pandemic covid19.
Conclusion
Family Planning Field Workers should be able to accompany the main duties of the family in meeting the physical, spiritual and social needs of family members, including the care and care of children, guiding children’s personality development, and meeting the emotional needs of family members. To make this happen, prospective fathers and mothers need to determine their dream family, choices, and hopes and need to have a plan to become successful parents. Family Planning Field Workers need to continue to develop themselves and look for online learning resources that are currently provided by the BKKBN and other institutions both domestically and abroad.
Although various complaints arose with this online training from family planning field workers did not give up on continuing to learn and in fact, the change from face-to-face (classical) classes to online classes were not only felt by the participants, but also by training organizers and facilitators/lecturers. Organizers and facilitators must prepare themselves as soon as possible and in addition to overcoming the difficulties of the training participants, the organizers and the facilitators also experience their own challenges.
REFERENCES
BKKBN. 2020. Panduan Penyuluhan PKB Selama Pandemi Covid19. Jakarta : Ditlinlap
Kompas. 2020.Pertumbuhan Ekonomi Indonesia. Jakarta : Kompas
WHO. 2014. WHA Global Nutrition Targets 2025: Stunting Policy Brief ( https://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/globaltargets_stunting_policybrief.pdf accessed 20th December,2020)
Author by Anindita Dyah Sekarpuri
Facilitator of Bogor Family Planning and Population Training Center