"The prevalence of stunting dropped from 37.2 percent in 2013 to 30.8 percent in 2018," the minister said here on Tuesday.
The prevalence of stunting for babies below two years dropped to 29 percent.
The research in 2018 was carried out in cooperation with the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) on the prevalence of stunting for children all over the country.
The decline in the prevalence is a result of cooperation in work between the Health Ministry and other agencies such as the Rural Development Ministry and the Public Works and Housing Ministry in providing access to clean water and improving sanitary, Nila said.
"Stunting is also correlated with non contagious disease," she said.
Based on Nutrition Status Monitoring (PSG) 2017 the baby prevalence of stunting in 2017 was 27 percent. However, the methodology was different. PSG covered certain areas, and the coverage of the research by the Health Ministry was nationwide.
The mother death rate also dropped significantly in the past five years -- from 4,999 in 2015, to 4,912 in 2016, to 4,295 in 2017, and to 2,355 in the first nine months of 2018.
Meanwhile, the National Family Planning and Demography Agency (BKKBN) of Central Kalimantan said the province was in the red zone in baby prevalence of stunting.
Head of the provincial BKKBN Satyawati Kusumawijaya said prevalence of stunting in the province is 40 percent.
"Poverty is not the only cause of stunting but also improper upbringing by parent," Satyawati Kusumawijaya said here on Tuesday.
Family also has important role in determining the quality of the future life of the children.
Reporting by Aditya Ramadhan
Editing by Albert Saragih
Reporter: Antara
Editor: Otniel Tamindael
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
