… the Vice President gave a directive to collect data, so maybe in April and May (2024), we will hold a simultaneous (children) weighing throughout Indonesia.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Vice President Ma'ruf Amin has asked officials to collect data related to stunting from various sources.

The directive was conveyed by Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture, Muhadjir Effendy, here on Tuesday after a meeting with the Vice President and the Stunting Reduction Acceleration Team.

"Earlier, the Vice President gave a directive to collect data, so maybe in April and May (2024), we will hold a simultaneous (children) weighing throughout Indonesia," Effendy informed.

He said that the aim of simultaneous weighing is to get certainty about the stunting rate in Indonesia.

The meeting on Tuesday also discussed other efforts to address stunting and the determination of provinces that will be prioritized for stunting handling.

"More importantly, we have to revise Presidential Regulation Number 72 as its validity period is almost over. We will evaluate which articles must be put on detail," he added.

During the meeting, Minister of Home Affairs, Tito Karnavian, proposed the revision of the presidential regulation to prioritize regions with high stunting and prevalence rates, including areas with poor fiscal conditions.

"There will be special attention and indeed, based on the findings there is a correlation between regions with poor fiscal conditions and stunting," he said.

He explained that regions with low regional original revenue (PAD) tend to have a higher stunting rate.

"We need to collect data on which areas we need to strengthen the budget for handling stunting," he added.

Minister Effendy said that the government is still striving to realize the target of reducing stunting prevalence to 14 percent this year.

"We have still nine months until December, so we are still expecting (to realize the target)," he added.

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Translator: Rangga J, Kenzu
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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