"The target is to reduce stunting prevalence, from 21.6 percent to 17.8 percent at the end of 2023," Head of BKKBN, Hasto Wardoyo, stated at the Technical Coordination Meeting for the Stunting Reduction Acceleration in 2023 on Thursday.
This optimism is due to the average stunting prevalence decline every year, over the last 10 years, he noted.
He remarked that the reduction in stunting prevalence was on an average of 1.3 percent per year in the 2013-2019 period; 1.65 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019-2021; and 2.8 percent in the 2021-2022 period.
Wardoyo also believed that the target of 17.8 percent will be achieved by the end of this year by implementing Presidential Regulation Number 72 of 2021 concerning the Acceleration of Stunting Reduction.
Implementation of the presidential regulation this year will be followed by refining the five pillars of the national strategy and refocusing intervention areas and targets, he stated.
One of the implementations of the presidential regulation is commitment realization from the central and regional governments, including from state-owned enterprises (SOEs), media, and the private sector, Wardoyo remarked.
"Essentially, we only need to reduce 3.8 percent by the end of this year, and I am optimistic we can," he stated.
During the meeting, Wardoyo also outlined several proposals to support the achievement of targets, both in 2023 and 2024, including increasing the number of prioritized regions, from 12 to 13.
He affirmed that this is followed by a convergence in the use of village funds of at least 10 percent, sub-district funds, and the Family Hope Program (PKH) for spending on the local Supplemental Feeding Program (PMT).
He remarked that cross-sectoral support is also necessary to accelerate data completion in the Ready for Marriage and Pregnancy Electronic Application (Elsimil) and the Family Information System (Siga).
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Translator: Hana Dewi Kinarina K, Resinta S
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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