Deputy of Family Planning and Reproductive Health at BKKBN Eni Gustina told participants of a webinar hosted here Saturday that during the COVID-19 pandemic, data of some 68 million of the 71,482,499 families could have been filed by name and address.
Currently, one in four toddlers suffers from stunted growth, Gustina highlighted. The high ratio is due to factors such as anemia-affected pregnant women, malnutrition in children, and a too short inter-birth interval.
According to the 2017 National Health Diagnosis Standard (SDKI) data, the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) was capped at 24 deaths out of 1,000 births.
Meanwhile, 5.1 percent of teenagers admitted to having consumed narcotics and other illegal drugs. On top of that, the annual morbidity rate among the elderly stood at 26.20 percent.
According to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics, the percentage of poor people in Indonesia reached 9.41 percent of the total population in 2019.
Gustina said that to create a family of good quality, the government needs to design interventions for certain life stages to cover brides and grooms, couples of childbearing age, families, and children.
These efforts could include expediting a campaign to educate teenagers about the right age to get married: at least 21 years for women and 25 years for men.
They must also include disseminating information on pregnancy planning, such as advising women against having children after the age of 35. People must also plan each pregnancy and parenting methods well.
The agency is promoting the use of contraceptives among prospective newlyweds and couples of childbearing age, as the government is aiming to involve 70 percent of mothers in the Family Planning program in order to set a larger birth spacing timeframe.
Related news: Indonesia should emulate other countries to reduce stunting: BKKBN
In addition to family planning, the agency is also urging prospective newlyweds to undergo a medical examination three months before getting married. The check-up is intended to gauge a future mother's condition for pregnancy planning.
Monitoring is being done through blood tests and measurements of upper arm circumference, height, and weight, so that a mother can check whether she has anemia or chronic energy deficiency.
Gustina said that all women contribute to the creation of a family of good quality. Thus, she said she expected all women to plan their pregnancy, implement family functions, and maintain their own and their baby's health.
Related news: Indonesia's war against child stunting
Translator: Hreeloita D S, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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