"The president has said that we have to fight against stunting together," BKKBN Head Hasto Wardoyo noted in a virtual speech at an event in Padang on Saturday.
The event is titled "West Sumatra Stunting Eradication Initiative with Andalas University."
In his speech, he emphasized Indonesia's duty to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals target by 2030, addressing issues ranging from hunger and nutrition, maternal death rate, as well as neonatal deaths.
Wardoyo informed the university students, who intend to partake in community service programs, that stunting is one of the most serious issues that needed to be addressed.
He highlighted the signs found in children with stunted growth, such as short body stature and cognitive disturbance, both of which hinder their health and ability to keep up with other children, who are healthier.
"Because later, in their 40s or 50s, they will be hit with central obesity, or accumulation of fat in the abdominal area of the body. (They are) also riddled with many diseases," he pointed out.
On the occasion, he also informed that children with stunted growth are short, though children, who were short, did not necessarily have stunted growth. Wardoyo outlined three common causes of stunted growth -- inadequate breast milk, insufficient nutritional intake, and improper child care -- that resulted in children falling sick often.
According to the World Population Review data on 2022, Indonesia is ranked 130th globally in terms of IQ, capped at 78.49.
The higher ranks are Japan that scored 106.48, followed by Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, South Korea, Belarus, Finland, Liechtensten, and Germany.
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Translator: M Zulfikar, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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