President Joko Widodo's scheduled working visit to Soe, the capital of South Timor Tengah District, on Thursday, shows the concern and commitment of the President and the Central Government to eradicate stuntingMakassar, S Sulawesi (ANTARA) - Head of the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) Hasto Wardoyo stated that the BKKBN pushed child stunting reduction in 12 priority provinces to achieve the national target.
Wardoyo made the remark in a press statement released by the South Sulawesi BKKBN here on Tuesday.
Wardoyo, concurrently serving as the Chief Executive of the National Stunting Reduction Acceleration Team, noted that the government had set 12 priority provinces to implement the national action plan to accelerate Indonesia's stunting reduction (RAN PASTI) program to reduce the stunting prevalence by three percent in 2022.
The reduction is pursued annually to achieve the target of reducing the stunting prevalence to 14 percent by 2024.
Of the 12 prioritized provinces, seven provinces recorded the highest rate of child stunting in the country: East Nusa Tenggara, with 37.8 percent; West Sulawesi, 33.8 percent; Aceh, 33.2 percent; West Nusa Tenggara, 31.4 percent; Southeast Sulawesi, 30 percent; West Kalimantan, 29.8 percent; and Central Sulawesi, with 29.7 percent stunting prevalence.
Related news: Gov't must help improve quality of 71.4 million families: BKKBN
Particularly in East Nusa Tenggara Province, the stunting prevalence in South Timor Tengah District, according to the 2021 Indonesian Nutritional Status Study (SSGI), reached 48.3 percent, or the highest in the province.
To this end, the BKKBN head said that South Timor Tengah District, East Nusa Tenggara Province, was chosen as the location for President Joko Widodo's visit that is scheduled for Thursday, March 24, 2022.
"President Joko Widodo's scheduled working visit to Soe, the capital of South Timor Tengah District, on Thursday, shows the concern and commitment of the President and the Central Government to eradicate stunting," he remarked.
Related news: BKKBN, 340 universities join hands to handle stunting
According to the 2021 SSGI data, East Nusa Tenggara still has 15 districts categorized with the red status, as stunting prevalence in those districts is above 30 percent.
The 15 districts are South Timor Tengah, North Timor Tengah, Alor, Southwest Sumba, North Manggarai, Kupang, Rote Ndao, Belu, West Manggarai, West Sumba, Central Sumba, Sabu Raijua, Manggarai, Lembata, and Malaka.
Related news: G20 chance to realize climate action: minister
Related news: Pandemic chance to women at center of economic activity: W20 delegate
Translator: Suriani Mappong, Raka Adji
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2022
