Pressing Stunting Cases, Ministry Of Health Distributes 300 Thousand Anthropometry To Posyandu-Puskesmas

Illustration of the use of anthropometric tools in babies. BETWEEN/HO-Kemenkes

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) distributed around 300 thousand anthropometric devices to posyandu and puskesmas in various regions in an effort to reduce maternal and child mortality and early detection of stunting.

"The Ministry of Health has in the past two years distributed 300 thousand anthropometry scales to all posyandu," said Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin through the Ministry of Health's Bureau of Communication and Public Services in Jakarta, Thursday.

Based on the Ministry of Health's report, the fulfillment of the baby's measuring instruments has been carried out in stages since 2020 at 1,823 posyandu, in 2021 at 16,936 posyandu, 2022 at 34,256 posyandu, and 2023 at 127,033 posyandu.

In addition, the need for anthropometric tools has also been met at 25,177 puskesmas in 2019. Meanwhile, this year the distribution of anthropometry is being rolled out at 81,512 posyandu.

Budi said the previous anthropometry was given to the puskesmas, but in the last two years it was extended to posyandu because it is very useful in preventing stunting.

The Ministry of Health stated that the total need for anthropometric devices in all posyandu in Indonesia reached 313,737 units out of a total of 303,416 posyandu.

Budi said that the consideration of digital babies will monitor the growth of babies in Indonesia so that they can detect if there are babies who may experience stunting early on.

It is hoped that with this anthropometric tool, the growth of babies in Indonesia can be monitored, so that it can detect if there are babies with symptoms of stunting.

According to Budi, stunting prevention efforts cannot be separated from the health condition of mothers while pregnant through the use of ultrasonographic tools (USG).

For this reason, the Ministry of Health also distributes ultrasonographic tools (USG) to 6,886 health centers in 2022 and 1,943 health centers in 2023. This policy continues this year with a target of 1,492 health centers.

Budi said that the amount increased the need for ultrasound equipment from the previous 2,000 units out of a total of 10 thousand health centers in Indonesia.

"I have checked a number of health centers in various regions, it turns out that the ultrasound has been used. So, I am very happy that our program is already running," he said.