Jakarta (ANTARA) - Vice President Ma’ruf Amin has called on relevant parties to identify and navigate factors that hinder the country’s efforts to accelerate stunting prevalence reduction.

“I ask that the factors, which have caused stunting reduction achievements to slow down in the last two years, be identified and navigated,” he stated here on Thursday.

Amin made the statement at the National Working Meeting for Bangga Kencana Program and Stunting Reduction Acceleration in 2024 held by the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) in Jakarta.

The vice president emphasized that the government had made stunting reduction acceleration a main priority in the national development agenda.

He assessed that the identification of factors that hinder the acceleration of stunting reduction is crucial, as stunting can affect the nation's competitiveness that depends on the quality of the human resources.

Hence, he pressed for stunting prevention efforts to be carried out early at the level of families by ensuring nutritional fulfillment for all family members, exclusive breastfeeding for infants up to six months of age, safe access to sanitation and drinking water facilities, a clean and healthy lifestyle, and proper care.

“Families must also be more proactive to get access to health services, such as routine checks for pregnant women, immunization, and regular growth and development monitoring for children,” he remarked.

The vice president also appealed to all relevant parties to focus on strategies and approaches to prevent new cases of stunting without reducing interventions for stunted children.

Furthermore, entering the transition period and change of leadership this year, Amin reminded that the leader’s commitment and vision towards stunting reduction programs, both at the central and regional levels, must be maintained.

Stunting reduction is a priority program of the Indonesian government, which is seeking to bring down stunting prevalence to 14 percent by 2024.

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Translator: Rangga Pandu, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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