Stunting prevention for prospective brides and grooms is not only instructed by the government but also by the religion. If this is merely a government instruction, a lot of people can bypass it, but the religion has instructed us to prepare a betterJakarta (ANTARA) - The requirement for prospective brides and grooms to undergo health checks before marriage aims to detect health issues and malnutrition to prevent stunting at birth, according to Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas.
"The requirement will only be for the health checkup and not the result. If the result of health checkups detected possible health issues, then assistance will be provided to improve their conditions to ensure their pregnancy will not end in stunting at birth. In principle, everyone can go ahead with their marriage if they have checked their health," Qoumas stated at the event to launch the pre-marriage health check programme here on Friday.
Prospective brides and grooms should be ready in terms of various aspects before marrying, including ensuring their physical health is sound and undergoing health checks to ensure that they will bear healthy offspring, he remarked.
The stunting prevention programme is aimed at creating healthy and prime future generations, the minister affirmed while adding that preventing stunting is consistent with religious values.
Related news: Two prior generations of infant determine stunting likelihood: BKKBN
"Stunting prevention for prospective brides and grooms is not only instructed by the government but also by the religion. If this is merely a government instruction, a lot of people can bypass it, but the religion has instructed us to prepare a better future generation," Qoumas noted.
He highlighted that collaboration between stakeholders is essential in the stunting prevention mission.
The ministry will also encourage local religious affairs offices and clerics to disseminate information about stunting prevention, he added.
"We must fight stunting together through assistance, counselling, and health checks within three months before marriage," Qoumas remarked.
Meanwhile, National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) Head Hasto Wardoyo affirmed that health checkups for prospective brides and grooms are essential to prevent stunting.
Related news: Jambi BKKBN, 8 universities join hands to reduce stunting
Physical checkups and blood test could determine the health condition of prospective mothers and detect health issues that might affect their foetus during pregnancy, he explained.
The result of health checkup will be accessible through the BKKBN application, and the agency's assistance team will monitor the health conditions of prospective mothers with data provided in the application, the agency head noted.
"A woman, with an upper arm circumference of less than 23.5 centimetres, can go on to get married, but if she decided to get pregnant, then she must increase the circumference first to ensure that her child has sufficient nutrients and would not be born stunted," Wardoyo stated.
The government had recorded that the stunting prevalence level had declined to 24.4 percent by 2021 and is expected to reach 14 percent by 2024, he added.
Related news: Indonesia has two years to expedite HR development: Widodo
Related news: University study programs should be relevant to changing times: Jokowi
Translator: Hreeloita DS, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2022
