Provincial secretary Sofian Ibrahim said on Friday that Gorontalo is aiming to excel in all sectors by 2045 under the Golden Gorontalo goal, which aligns with the national Golden Indonesia 2045 vision.
To achieve this, one key indicator that needs to be reduced is the stunting rate, which reflects the future generation’s health quality.
“If we carry out convergence actions together in an integrated way, we can quickly reduce stunting rates, especially in terms of data management and strengthening implementers. Districts, cities, and the province must reinforce and push for the same measures,” Ibrahim said.
He explained that integrated convergence actions, such as strengthening local government roles, aligning budgets, conducting situational analyses, improving human resources, and enhancing regulations, could help accelerate stunting reduction if implemented consistently.
“Strong coordination and collaboration from all parties are expected to produce a significant impact,” he said.
Ibrahim cited Japan as an example, noting that it has employed a similar intervention model but added a height improvement program.
He expressed the hope that lessons drawn from another country’s experiences would help speed up the progress of local efforts, especially if demographic conditions are similar.
“Why is Japan faster while we are slower? That’s the question. The actions are the same, but they have one additional program -- height improvement -- accompanied by stunting reduction,” Ibrahim said.
According to senior policy analyst Arifin Effendy Hutagalung, convergence actions include helping strengthen the roles of sub-districts, villages, urban wards, the private sector, and communities in accelerating stunting reduction.
They further include aligning the tagging and tracking of provincial and district/city budgets, he added.
The efforts also comprise enhancing situational analysis in planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating stunting reduction programs; improving human resources through digital transformation integrated with the Bangda Action Web, the population administration system (Dukcapil), the regional planning information system (SIPD), and spatial government data.
They further include promoting regulatory strengthening and public outreach, while increasing the number of regions performing well in stunting reduction implementation.
According to the Indonesia Nutrition Status Survey, Gorontalo’s stunting prevalence in 2024 stood at 23.8 percent, down from 26.9 percent in 2023, but still above the national average of 19.8 percent.
The downward trend over the past five years has been relatively consistent, despite some fluctuations, indicating the need for more effective and efficient interventions in the future.
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Translator: Primayanti
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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