BKKBN Focuses On Health Development Of Brides-to-Be To Prevent Stunting Baby Birth

Head of the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) dr. Hasto Wardoyo. (Anita Permata Dewi/Antara)

JAKARTA - The National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) focuses on providing guidance to brides-to-be to prevent an increase in the number of babies suffering from stunting.

Because in a year, there are on average two million people who are newly married and who manage to get pregnant in the first year of marriage reached 80 percent or 1.6 million people.

"Brides-to-be are the most strategic target to intervene because in a year there are two million newly married people, of whom 80 percent are pregnant in the first year or reach 1.6 million people," said Head of BKKBN dr. Hasto Wardoyo in an online discussion entitled Malnutrition in pandemic period monitored in Jakarta, as reported by Antara, Friday, April 8.

This intervention is important to achieve the target of reducing the number of stunting cases to 14 percent by 2024 in accordance with the direction of President Joko Widodo.

"That's our determination because it's only three and a five years," he said.

Based on Basic Health Research (Riskesdas) in 2018, the percentage of babies born with a body length of less than 48 cm or below the standard is 22.6 percent.

The percentage of six-month-old infants categorized as stunting prevalence reached 23.2 percent. While the prevalence rate of stunting in infants aged 1,000 days is even higher at 37.3 percent.

"Ideally to lower stunting to 14 percent, then this figure of 22.6 percent should be getting more and more days down to the age of 1,000 days or two years, the figure (stunting percentage) is only 14 percent, then it's a success," he said.

In addition to focusing on improving the health quality of brides-to-be, BKKBN also strives to ensure the nutrition of pregnant women is met until postpartum.

"We mapped the treatment starting from premarital, pregnancy, (baby) 1,000 days of the first life, so I am sure the babies that will be born are not stunting," said Hasto optimistically.