Badan Kependudukan dan Keluarga Berencana Nasional (BKKBN), Jakarta/02/08/2021 – Indonesia currently has a total of 270.20 million people in its population according to the 2020 Census. This population size that can be an asset when complemented with quality, as a sizeable population that lacks quality, coupled with rapid population growth, will only hinder the country from realizing its ambitions. The Family Development, Population, and Family Planning (Bangga Kencana) program and its various priority actions are consistently geared towards realizing Indonesia’s strong human capital.
“Improving human capital quality is strategic to realizing an independent, advanced, and prosperous Indonesia. Quality human capital will allow us to fulfill our needs and make progress. We need to address human capital building using the life-cycle approach, from pregnancy to elderly,” said Deputy for Population Control of the National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN) Dwi Listyawardani in her remaks during an event titled “Exploring Future Collaboration in Reducing Stunting in Indonesia”, held in collaboration between BKKBN and the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry (Jakarta/02/08/2021).
“Stunting is a threat to Indonesia’s human capital. Our homework is fundamental, and that is to improve the quality of our people. The Basic Health Research data shows that 1 in 3 Indonesian children are stunted. We have also mapped regions with the highest stunting prevalence rates, which translate into 6,600 villages in 360 regencies/municipalities,” Dwi added.
She continued that, “When it comes to stunting, Indonesia’s prevalence rate is fairly high at 27.67 per cent in 2020. The president’s mandate during a closed cabinet meeting last January was tasking the National Population and Family Planning Board to lead our stunting reduction acceleration program, targeting to hit 14 per cent of prevalence rate by 2024.”
“The efforts to reduce stunting rate require reciprocal vertical and horizontal efforts of the government and the public. There are many variables involved that affect the degree of stunting reduction, such as: environment, behavior, and healthcare services. To ensure we can bring stunting rate down, healthcare services need to be comprehensive, the living environment must be healthy, education and jobs are assured, and healthy habits are instilled. These need to be promoted continuously to lower Indonesia’s stunting rate,” Dwi elaborated.
Speaking about BKKBN’s efforts on stunting reduction, the Deputy for Training, Research, and Development of BKKBN Muhammad Rizal Damanik said, “BKKBN has carried out a number of activities, among others: (1) We formed a Stunting Reduction Taskforce; (2) organized an event on stunting, featuring 100 professors, held in 34 provinces; (3) organized Ambassador Talks to get insights from the international community that we hope can be applied in addressing stunting in Indonesia and to explore collaboration opportunities; (4) held research activities to get evidence; (5) engaged with various partners and the academia to conduct studies; (6) Held various webinars for specific groups as well as the public at large; (7) organized training for providers; (8) and other important efforts to forge cooperation with national and international partners. BKKBN has also signed several MoUs on stunting reduction and we are currently developing the DAHSYAT program (Healthy Kitchen for Stunting Reduction).”
“With DAHSYAT, we want to ensure the availability and access to healthy foods for children affected by stunting, pregnant women, breastfeeding women, and children under five. The program will also improve their knowledge on balanced nutrition, especially among families with high stunting risk and about food bank,” Rizal concluded. (Humas/TWD)