Pressing Prevelence, Ministry Of Health Encourages Exclusive Breastfeeding Training At Health Centers

Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin (center) and West Manggarai Regent Edistasius Endi (right) at Komodo Labuan Bajo Hospital, NTT, today. (ANTARA-Fransiska M N)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) said that it is trying to intensify training for exclusive breast milk counseling or counselors at health centers in the country.

"This is part of our (exclusive breast milk counselor training) revitalizing the puskesmas and posyandu which since the New Order and the existence of the Regional Autonomy Law have not been touched," said Minister of Health (Menkes) Budi Gunadi Sadikin in a working meeting of Commission IX DPR RI with the Head of the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) Hasto Wardoyo at the Parliament Complex, Jakarta, Thursday, May 16, confiscated by Antara.

According to the Minister of Health, his party assesses that the existence of exclusive breast milk counselors is important in maximizing the reduction in stunting rates in Indonesia, because one of the factors contributing to the high stunting rate is the lack of infant nutrition due to not getting exclusive breast milk.

It is known that exclusive breast milk counseling trainers are tasked with providing information and helping mothers if they experience problems during breastfeeding. Therefore, it is important for puskesmas and its network to have an exclusive breastfeeding counseling or breastfeeding counselor.

The explanation was also conveyed by Minister of Health Budi in response to the request of member of Commission IX DPR RI Arzeti Bilbina for the Ministry of Health to present an exclusive breast milk counselor program.

"I ask the Minister of Health why he no longer carries out exclusive breast milk (consuling) programs," said Arzeti.

Minister of Health Budi also said that so far the Ministry of Health has trained 3,500 exclusive breast milk counselors in a number of health centers in the country. Even so, he admits that this number is still far from the ideal number of around 10,000 people or each health center has at least one exclusive breast milk counselor.

"Regarding exclusive breast milk, we have a program, we have 3,500 exclusive breast milk counselors that we train at the puskesmas. There should be one in each puskesmas, it should be 10,000," said the Minister of Health.