I invite all the nation's powers to move together, work together, synergize together to reduce stunting and all the root causes of the problemJakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) called for synergy among all parties involved in efforts to reduce childhood stunting at an event held to mark the 29th National Family Day at Merdeka Field, Medan, North Sumatra, on Thursday.
"I invite all the nation's powers to move together, work together, synergize together to reduce stunting and all the root causes of the problem," he said at the event, which was broadcast live on the Presidential Secretariat's official YouTube channel.
According to the President, synergy is important so that the next generation comprises quality human resources.
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The government is aiming to reduce the stunting rate to 14 percent by 2024. The rate was recorded at 37 percent in 2014 and 24.4 percent in 2021.
One aspect that needs to be considered in the effort to prevent stunting is appropriate birth spacing, and information about this should be disseminated and Indonesian families encouraged to space births.
The President appealed to families to have children at least three years apart. Most importantly, families must prepare for educating their children so that they can become quality human resources, he stressed.
He then invited families, especially those residing in rural areas, to utilize their land for farming or raising livestock to fulfill their food needs and increase their children's nutritional intake.
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He also invited all Indonesian families to maintain health, both within the family and in the environment around the family.
He emphasized that if families take an active role, then the stunting reduction efforts carried out by the government at the central, provincial, district, and city levels can immediately produce results.
"Lastly, I believe that families are the pillar of the nation's welfare; families are the first and foremost ecosystem in nurturing, educating, creating healthy humans, humans with sufficient nutrition, quality humans," he remarked.
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Translator: Gilang Galiartha, Raka Adji
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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