"Stunting can damage our children's future and erode the quality of Indonesia's human resources in the future," BKKBN head Hasto Wardoyo said in an official statement received here on Tuesday.
The government is focusing on the handling of stunting at this moment, he noted. Thus, the program to accelerate stunting reduction has become a national priority program.
Stunting can lead to children not reaching their full physical and intellectual potential and increases the possibility of their suffering from metabolic disorders and other disabilities in old age, Wardoyo said.
A stunting prevalence of 21.6 percent would affect the future of the nation's children, especially since there is potential for this number to increase due to the birth of more stunted babies, he added.
"It takes between three to five years to reduce stunting," he highlighted.
Since stunting is often caused by chronic malnutrition, the BKKBN is making efforts to improve children's nutritional intake by increasing their consumption of animal proteins through local foods such as eggs, catfish, moringa leaves, red oil, and fortified rice.
In addition, poor sanitation, lack of latrines, too many kids in one family, close birth intervals, and giving birth at an early or late age can also cause stunting in children, Wardoyo noted.
"One of the government's interventions for reducing stunting is through the use of contraception to create a gap between births," he informed.
BKKBN has also continued to expand its cooperation network to address stunting. On Monday, it extended its cooperation with the Kompas Humanitarian Fund Foundation (YDKK), which has the same focus and interest.
"We are grateful that YDKK wants to help us in accelerating efforts to reduce stunting. In accordance with President Joko Widodo's directives, efforts to accelerate stunting reduction must be carried out in collaboration with all parties," he remarked.
Meanwhile, YDKK member Anung Wendyartaka said that his organization has been active in disaster emergency response. YDKK is also conducting health and education programs to improve sanitation in the form of latrine assistance.
The foundation has implemented its latrine assistance program in Surabaya, Surakarta, Malang, and Magelang.
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Translator: Hreeloita Dharma S, Resinta S
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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