Minister Muhadjir Effendy made the remarks while delivering a virtual speech at the National Coordination Meeting, which was streamed on the Kata Data YouTube channel from Jakarta on Monday.
President Joko Widodo had issued Presidential Regulation Number 72 of 2021 concerning Reducing Stunting from the current 27.7 percent to 14 percent by 2024, he noted.
"We all need to welcome the issuance of a Presidential Regulation concerning the acceleration of stunting reduction optimistically so that with this new legal umbrella, we can achieve the targets set for each region," he said.
There are three important aspects concerning the legal umbrella, Muhadjir said. First, the commitment of the provincial, district and village governments is key for accelerating stunting reduction, he stated.
Second, local governments must form a Team for the Acceleration of Stunting Reduction as part of the implementation of activities, led by their respective regional leaders, he said.
"The third is the intervention from the ministry or institution that must be carried out in a convergent and integrated manner," he added.
The stunting rate in Indonesia is estimated to have increased amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Effendy said.
"The current COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on our efforts to reduce stunting. The stunting rate is likely to increase, especially for the poor, who will continue to experience the impact of declining purchasing power of family for nutritious food," the minister said.
The number of urban poor people increased by 138 thousand as of March 2021 from 12.04 million in September 2020.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said he is optimistic that Indonesia's stunting prevalence rate would reduce to 14 percent by 2024 through evidence-based and intensive intervention.
"Intensive efforts will be taken to accelerate the reduction in stunting prevalence in Indonesia until the stunting prevalence rate in our country reaches a negligible level," he said in his opening remarks during the national coordination meeting on stunting prevention, which was broadcast by the Vice President's Secretariat on Monday.
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Translator: Andi F, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Sri Haryati
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