"The education and the dissemination of information on the negative impacts of child marriage need to continue to be strengthened," the ministry's assistant deputy for nutrition security and health promotion, Jelsi Natalia Marampa, said when contacted here on Sunday.
She explained that child marriage is feared to affect the health of mothers and children.
"For example, it is feared that the physical condition of women who get married under the age of 18 is not yet ready to give birth and become mothers. Giving birth at a young age is also feared to put the lives of the mother and the child at risk," she remarked.
Apart from that, there is also concern that child marriage lacks preparation, so a health check is not carried out before the marriage.
"A health check is an essential thing to ensure the prospective bride is free from anemia," she added.
Marampa explained that if the prospective bride has anemia, she is at risk of suffering anemia during pregnancy and giving birth to a child with a lower body weight and a stunted child.
She added that the role of families, especially parents, and the surrounding environment is necessary to prevent child marriage.
"To this end, education is needed to improve the awareness and understanding of families and the community to prevent child marriage together," she remarked.
The involvement of families and the community in the prevention of child marriage is expected to promote better awareness and action to prevent early marriage.
Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Cultural Affairs Muhadjir Effendy encouraged all parties, especially parents, to prevent child marriage to avoid the various negative impacts that it may cause.
"Child marriage is feared to have negative impacts, such as domestic violence, stunting among children that will be born, and the emergence of new poor families," he said.
The minister added that marriage requires the physical and mental readiness of the couple to build a harmonious family.
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Translator: Wuryanti Puspitasari, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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