Deputy Mayor of Palembang Fitrianti Agustinda reported that the decline was recorded during the January-March 2022 period in across 18 sub-districts. She delivered the statement in Palembang on Saturday.
She remarked that among the factors that contributed to the decline in cases include population dynamics, patients' recovery, and the improvement in treatment for maternal and child nutrition.
The population dynamics, however, contributed only a few percent to it, she emphasized. The rest took a larger part of the decline in cases.
Agustinda disclosed that the city government had formed a family assistance team comprising 2,940 people that included personnel of integrated service posts, medical staffs, and midwives, which were coordinated by the Palembang Family Planning Population Control Office.
The team was dispatched across 18 sub-districts, with each member in charge of providing assistance, counseling, and health check-ups.
The health checkups were conducted in collaboration with the local religious affairs office, so it was even conducted three months prior to marriage of the prospective couples.
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The government views that measure as important, so that after the couple got married, they would be better prepared to have children, given all the assistance provided.
Agustinda affirmed that they had coordinated with the heads of sub-districts and heads of 41 public health centers, so the information could be disseminated to the public. The government believed that by 2023, they would reach their target of zero stunting cases.
The effort aligned with the central government's aim to bring down the rate of stunting cases to 14 percent by 2024.
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Translator: M Riezko B E, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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