At the working meeting on national health in 2020 held in JIEXPO Kemayoran, Jakarta, on Wednesday, Effendy noted that the Health Ministry’s offices across all regions are tasked with ensuring that the number of stunting cases declined in accordance with the primary mission of human resource development in Indonesia.
Citing data of the World Bank, the minister revealed that 54 percent of the 136 million workforce in the country had suffered from stunting in their childhood.
Hence, Effendy reiterated that stunting reduction had become a crucial agenda for the government to create superior, qualified human capital in 2045.
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The minister affirmed that health issues should become the key point in the development of Indonesia's superior human resources. Development in other sectors, such as education, social welfare, and religious affairs, will follow suit.
The government has prioritized efforts to expedite the reduction in stunting rate. The national stunting prevalence rate currently stands at 27.6 percent, down from 30.8 percent in 2018.
In line with the National Mid-Term Development Plan for the 2020-2024 period, the government has outlined a target to reduce the national poverty rate to 6.5-7 percent by the end of 2024. The number of poor people is expected to drop to between 18.34 million and 19.75 million.
To expedite poverty alleviation, the government has designed several programs aimed at reducing the burden of spending and increasing the income of the poor.
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Translator: Aditya R, Sri Haryati
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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