“Stunting is a serious threat to the demographic bonus that Indonesia is currently facing. Do not let our opportunity, the demographic bonus, fail to be used properly," Wardoyo noted in a written statement received here, Wednesday.
The BKKBN head explained that the demographic bonus is a condition wherein the number of people from the productive population exceeds that in the unproductive one. This condition could affect the improvement in welfare of the country.
Secondly, the use of contraceptives after birth also plays a major role in producing healthy children. Through contraception, families can plan birth spacing for their children, he stated.
"This stunting is purely due to mismanagement because of sub-optimal nutrition, sub-optimal health in the first one thousand days of life, and the parents' lack of information is raising kids. Stunting is not genetic," Wardoyo emphasized.
The third key was related to knowledge on reproductive health. A gap in the parents' knowledge regarding health reproduction could create a different mindset, specifically marriage at a young age, school dropout, young-age pregnancy, and multiple pregnancies without family planning.
Reproductive knowledge can help transform a productive demographic bonus into a welfare bonus, specifically by increasing the per capita income, reducing maternal and infant mortality, and lowering unemployment.
By focusing on these three keys, Indonesia will be able to reap a demographic bonus that is productive, healthy, and able to create jobs when the country is moving toward an aging population while preventing a missed demographic dividend or the condition in which the number of people in the elderly population increases but not being productive, sick, and relatively poor.
The BKKBN fulfils the mandate from President Joko Widodo as stipulated in Presidential Regulation Number 72 of 2021 as the leader of the acceleration of stunting reduction nationally.
"Therefore, we avoid growing old before growing rich. We try to anticipate the aging population with our demographic bonus," Wardoyo said.
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Translator: Hreeloita Dharma S, Resinta S
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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