Jakarta (ANTARA) - Head of the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) Hasto Wardoyo has said that Indonesia's new capital, Nusantara, in East Kalimantan can become a model region with zero new stunting cases.

"If there are 200 thousand residents, the task is to prevent stunting birth in 3,200 people to be zero stunting," he informed, according to a statement released by the BKKBN on Friday.

He made the statement during the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) by the BKKBN and the Nusantara Capital Authority (OIKN) in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, on Friday.

Wardoyo further said that the BKKBN is ready to support Nusantara with data based on names and addresses of families in the new capital area, which reflects family conditions in detail, including stunting risk status.

He explained that prospective brides and grooms are at risk of having stunted children because 80 percent of women get pregnant in the first year of marriage.

He further said that all prospective brides and grooms must undergo health screening before marriage so that the health profile in the Nusantara area can be projected accurately.

Regarding the demographic dividend, he underscored that currently, every 100 people support just 44 unemployed people, but this situation is different in East Kalimantan.

"The workforce is much larger there. The dependency ratio is lower than in other provinces," he said.

He expressed the hope that the BKKBN and the OIKN will work together to build the quality of human resources in the Nusantara area.

"We are optimistic to prepare quality families, the community in Nusantara as the pilot project," he said.

According to OIKN head Bambang Susantono, the MoU signing is the beginning of a concrete step to realize a stunting-free community in Nusantara.

He expressed the hope that the BKKBN will continue to lend complete data support to the OIKN to help track the development of the region and families that are at risk of stunting.

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Translator: Lintang Budiyanti, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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