High Stunting Cases In West Kalimantan, Deputy Governor Visits BKKBN

Photo: Public Relations of BKKBN

JAKARTA - Deputy Governor of West Kalimantan Ria Norsan visited the office of the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN), Tuesday, January 18.

Ria Norsan said that she deliberately came to the BKKBN because stunting cases in her area were high. Therefore, his party wants to get assistance from the BKKBN to overcome this problem.

"In Kalimantan, the stunting problem is quite high compared to the national one, with a population of around 5.4 million. Our goal is to collaborate and learn from the BKKBN how to overcome the stunting problem in West Kalimantan," Ria said in an official statement.

Based on data from the Indonesian Nutritional Status Study (SSGI), the prevalence of stunted toddlers (height according to age) in districts/cities in West Kalimantan Province in 2021 is 29.8 percent. This figure is still higher than the national prevalence which reached 24.4 percent.

Head of BKKBN Hasto said his party would fulfill the request. "In order to assist the family and guard the family so that there is no new stunting, maybe we can do it together with the Deputy Governor of West Kalimantan," said Hasto.

In the future, he said, there are several strategies that will be applied to overcome this problem. Among other things, regulating the birth spacing between one child and another.

"We don't limit births, but we can adjust the birth spacing, 3 years apart to avoid stunting," he said.

Then, a simple examination of the health of the bride and groom. In addition, for three months of pre-wedding, it is mandatory to check the upper arm circumference, height, weight and HB. Currently, the BKKBN has developed an Electronic Application for Marriage and Pregnancy (Elsimil) which is specifically designed to target catin, pregnant women and those who have given birth as a health monitoring tool and education about marriage readiness and pregnancy programs.

"Currently, the BKKBN has also fostered a Family Assistance Team (TPK) of which there are 200 thousand TPK or 600 thousand micro personnel by name by address, complete in all areas and repaired from time to time," said dr. Hasto.