Appointed As Chief Executive Of The Acceleration Of Stunting Reduction, Chairman Of BKKBN Prepares A Strategy

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) appointed the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) to be the chief executive of the acceleration of stunting reduction.

Chairman of BKKBN Hasto Wardoyo said the party is now preparing a strategy in an effort to reduce the stunting rate to 14 percent in 2024. One of them is increasing the decline from 1.6 percent to 2.7 percent.

"Because the decline in stunting so far for the past five years is still around 1.6 percent a year, we must increase the acceleration to 2.7 percent per year," said Hasto in a press conference broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat YouTube account, Monday, January 25.

He then explained, in the next four years it is estimated that there will be 20 million babies who will be born.

from that data, he said, one third or 7.2 million babies are estimated to be stunted. So, his party will try to reduce this figure to around 3.4 million.

In addition, BKKBN will also strive for the annual stunting rate not to exceed 680 people. "That is not an easy task for us because we also have to prepare a structure in BKKBN and work programs," he said.

"Therefore, the President's direction to us must improve the quality of this management. So, this must be carried out well," he added.

As previously reported, the Coordinating Minister for PMK Muhadjir Effendy said that President Jokowi had targeted to reduce the stunting rate by 14 percent in 2024. He said this was conveyed in a limited meeting to determine steps to reduce stunting.

"The President has given us directions that by 2024, Indonesia's stunting rate is targeted to fall closer to 14 percent," Muhadjir said in a press conference broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat YouTube account, Monday, January 25.

He said this reduction must be done considering that the stunting rate in the country was still quite high, namely 27.6 percent in 2019 and is expected to increase in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thus, to achieve the specified target, the stunting rate must decrease by 2.7 percent in at least a year.

"This is a very large target and because of that the President has given directions so that there will be extraordinary or extra ordinary steps," he said.