This Is The Cause Of Slow Stunting Reduction In Indonesia

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The government is intensifying stunting reduction interventions in Indonesia. The target is that the stunting rate in 2014 could drop to 14 percent. However, currently, the prevalence of stunting in Indonesia is still 21.6 percent.

Professor of nutrition at Muhammadiyah University Tria Astika explained, until now there are still families who have not been able to understand good nutrition. They tend not to pay attention to children's nutritional intake.

"So children are used to consuming the food they like, such as food and drinks containing high fat sugar," said Tika in her statement, Sunday, December 17.

According to Tika, the habit of consuming food contains high sugar, the community has minimal nutritional literacy, socio-economics of the community is a determining factor in the success of reducing stunting prevalence in Indonesia.

Based on research conducted, as many as 11.4 percent of toddlers in Banten, 8.4 percent in DKI Jakarta, and 5.3 percent in DI Yogyakarta consume strong and sweet.

Not only that, as many as 78.3 percent of respondents in Banten, 88.1 percent in DKI Jakarta, and 95.2 percent in DI Yogyakarta provide a sweet viscosity to their toddlers of more than 1 sachet per day.

The main factor in giving thickness to children is due to the perception that people in these three regions still think that milk is thick.

"Why is this study important, the diet that has been formed since toddlers will continue to grow up, so that the habit of providing a sweet viscous for children and toddlers must be prevented as early as possible so that it does not continue," explained Tika.

Roesmarni Rusli from Repdem, on that occasion questioned the mechanism for monitoring the circulation of high sugar products in the community.

This sweet viscous product is based on the BPOM Regulation Number 31 of 2018, it has been stipulated that the label cannot include the word milk, it should be written with a thick and sweet creamer. Now, if we look at the condensed and sweet packaging again including sweet condensed milk, is this again BPOM changing its regulations or is there no supervision of this? " he added.

In addition, the chairman of the advocacy sector of the Abhipraya Insan Cendekia Indonesia Foundation (YAICI), Yuli Supriati, highlighted that the stunting management campaign that had been echoed was not based on the problems faced by the community.

So far, the narrative of dealing with stunting is through exclusive breastfeeding. This mother does not want to give exclusive breastfeeding for her child, but because she can't afford it, because she works, because her health condition and mother dies. These children who do not receive exclusive breast milk run into sweet thickness," Yuli explained.