Healthy and Happy Festival Promotes Stunting Prevention through Education and Nutrition in East Nusa Tenggara

Healthy and Happy Festival for Children. (doc. K-24 Pharmacy)

JAKARTA - Efforts to reduce stunting are not enough to rely solely on the provision of supplementary food. Education to parents, monitoring the growth and development of children, to collaboration between various parties are considered an important step so that stunting prevention can run more sustainably.

This approach is presented through the Healthy Happy Little Festival held in Kupang and Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara.

This activity presents education regarding the importance of the First 1,000 Days of Life (HPK), growth and development screening, consultation with a pediatric specialist, and nutritional assistance for toddlers who fall into the pre-stunting category.

Founder & President Director of K-24 Pharmacy, dr. Gideon Hartono, assessed that stunting is not only a matter of physical condition of children, but also related to the quality of human resources in the future.

"As a doctor, I see stunting not only as a matter of child height, but also related to growth and development and the quality of future generations. Therefore, through the Healthy Happy Festival for Little Ones, we want to make a real contribution through education, nutritional assistance, and collaboration with various parties," said dr. Gideon.

In Kupang and Labuan Bajo, as many as 1,500 pre-stunting toddlers received nutritional assistance, consisting of 1,000 toddlers in Kupang and 500 toddlers in Labuan Bajo. In addition, parents also receive assistance regarding nutritional fulfillment and monitoring child growth so that the risk of stunting can be prevented early.

The East Nusa Tenggara Provincial Government considers that handling stunting requires synergy from various parties. Head of DP3AP2KB NTT Province, drg. Iien Adriany, M.Kes., said that collaboration between the government, health workers, business world, and the community is an important factor in accelerating the reduction of stunting rates.

"We appreciate this collaboration with Sarihusada which presents the Healthy Happy Festival for Little Ones as a tangible form of support for accelerating the reduction of stunting in East Nusa Tenggara. Synergy between the government, business world, health workers, and the community is the key to creating a healthier generation," he said.

The same thing was conveyed by the Deputy Regent of West Manggarai, dr. Yulianus Weng, M.Kes. According to him, health education activities like this can strengthen the regional government's program in reducing the prevalence of stunting.

"We also appreciate the Healthy Happy Little Festival which supports the government's program in reducing stunting rates in West Manggarai. Hopefully, collaborations like this can continue and provide wider benefits for the community," he said.

The importance of family education is also a concern of PT Sarihusada Generasi Mahardhika. PT Sarihusada Generasi Mahardhika Sales Director, Rizki Imam Ardhi, said that nutritional fulfillment and monitoring of children's growth and development must be carried out early so that every child has the opportunity to grow optimally.

"We believe that every child has the right to have the opportunity to grow and develop optimally. Through this collaboration, we hope that more families will understand the importance of monitoring growth and development and the fulfillment of nutrition as a preventive measure for stunting from an early age," he said.

Meanwhile, Medical Market Access PT Nestlé Indonesia, Indah Dwi Puspita, emphasized that stunting prevention requires the involvement of many parties, including health workers at the community level.

"The best investment for the nation is to ensure that every child has the opportunity to grow and develop optimally. We hope that this collaboration can continue to provide tangible benefits to the community," said Indah.

As part of the activities, posyandu cadres, midwives, nurses, and nutritionists also attended a seminar with a pediatric specialist to strengthen their capacity in accompanying families to monitor child growth and development.

The Healthy Happy Little Festival is part of the series of celebrations for the 24th anniversary of K-24 Pharmacy. In addition to providing education and nutritional interventions for toddlers in East Nusa Tenggara, the company also inaugurated a number of new outlets in various areas as part of the expansion of pharmaceutical services.