This optimism stems from the 2024 stunting rate, which fell to 19.8 percent, surpassing the target of 20.1 percent. This figure comes from the 2024 Indonesian Nutritional Status Survey (SSGI).
"In 2024, we were able to reduce stunting cases from 4.8 million to 4.4 million," said Asnawi Abdullah, Head of the Health Development Policy Agency (BKPK) at the Ministry of Health, here on Thursday.
He stated that Indonesia needs to reduce the number of new stunting cases by 325.000 each year.
Related news: Govt aims to cut stunting to 14% by 2029 with free meals program
In addition to stunting, he noted that reductions were also observed in the prevalence of wasting and overweight.
On the contrary, he remarked that the prevalence of underweight children increased slightly, from 15.9 percent in 2023 to 16.8 percent in 2024.
Abdullah explained that although the national stunting prevalence was 19.8 percent, some provinces had lower rates, such as Bali at 8.7 percent.
However, East Nusa Tenggara's stunting prevalence remains above the national average, at 37 percent.
Related news: Ministry announces 2024 stunting rate at 19.8 percent
He noted that six provinces account for 50 percent of national stunting cases, including West Java, with 638,000 cases, and Central Java, with 485,000 cases.
The BKPK head also identified several factors influencing the stunting rate, such as malnutrition and diarrhea.
"If we can reduce the malnutrition prevalence by one percent, it will contribute to our capability of reducing the stunting prevalence by 1.92 percent," he remarked.
Furthermore, if the prevalence of diarrhea could be reduced by one percent, the stunting prevalence is expected to decline by up to 6.7 percent.
Related news: Ministries collaborate to update stunting data
Translator: Mecca Yumna, Raka Adji
Editor: M Razi Rahman
Copyright © ANTARA 2025
