Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia’s Health Ministry on Thursday launched a 1,000-day early life consortium to cut maternal and infant deaths and stunting, aiming to improve outcomes from pregnancy to age two.

“We aim to reduce annual maternal deaths from 4,000 to below 400 and infant deaths from 30,000 to under 3,000, while lowering stunting to below 7 percent,” Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin said.

The move comes as around 84 million Indonesian children are projected to support the country when it marks its centennial in 2045, underscoring the urgency of strengthening early-life health interventions.

Sadikin said the government will prioritize targeted, data-driven measures, including preventing pregnancy and childbirth complications such as preeclampsia, and addressing neonatal respiratory problems and infections like sepsis.

Key steps include requiring at least eight prenatal checkups and distributing 10,000 ultrasound devices to community health centers nationwide to enable early risk detection.

The government is also preparing regulations to produce multiple micronutrient supplements domestically to improve maternal nutrition and support child development outcomes.

Pilot programs have begun in nine regional hospitals and 36 community health centers across Bogor, Bandung, and Garut to strengthen primary healthcare services.

Director General of Primary and Community Health at the Health Ministry Maria Endang Sumiwi said Indonesia has made progress on stunting, with achieved health indicators increasing from three in 2024 to eight in 2025.

“The focus is not only survival, but ensuring children thrive through proper nutrition monitoring and early stimulation,” she said.

The consortium brings together government institutions, private sector partners, academics, and civil society organizations to align efforts that have often operated separately.

It will operate through four working groups overseeing stages from preconception to a child’s second birthday, aiming to reduce overlapping programs and improve coordination nationwide.

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