"(It is) because the problems of stunting and extreme poverty are related to each other. Therefore, the efforts must be made simultaneously," Effendy noted in Jakarta, Monday.
He also stated that alleviating stunting and extreme poverty would become the government's sustainable program.
"Stunting and extreme poverty eradication will be carried out continuously, as long as this country has pregnant women, babies, and children under the age of five years, efforts to prevent and treat stunting must be carried out continuously," he emphasized.
According to Effendy, stunting and extreme poverty management programs are crucial to produce a superior and quality generation in the future and boost the people's welfare.
Efforts to expedite the handling of stunting and extreme poverty are included in the government's priority programs, he noted. Hence, his ministry continues to implement various programs to support the acceleration of stunting reduction.
"We are still coordinating with regional heads in several regions via a virtual roadshow titled 'Online Roadshow to Accelerate Stunting Reduction and Eliminate Extreme Poverty,'" he stated.
The goal of this activity is to collect data and keep an eye out for various problems faced by regions in terms of obstacles in handling stunting and extreme poverty, Effendy remarked.
Moreover, his ministry invites local governments to continue to optimize the handling of stunting and extreme poverty in their respective regions through various strategic programs and innovations.
"We hope that regional heads can gather (data on) the distribution of stunting cases and extremely poor families in each village, so that the programs created will be more targeted," he stated.
Effendy noted that the government continued to make various strategic efforts in order to accelerate the reduction of stunting. The current stunting prevalence rate in Indonesia, based on the Indonesian Nutrition Status Survey (SSGI), was recorded at 21.6 percent.
"The government targets stunting prevalence in Indonesia to drop to 14 percent in 2024," he remarked.
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Translator: Wuryanti Puspitasari, Resinta S
Editor: Sri Haryati
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