Liang Sola Village In West Manggarai NTT Uses IDR 32.1 Million Village Fund To Handle Stunting

Health check activities at the Waemata Posyandu, Liang Sola Village, West Manggarai, NTT (Via ANTARA)

MANGGARAI BARAT - Liang Sola Village in West Manggarai, NTT, used village funds of Rp. 32.1 million to deal with stunting health problems for both stunted children and pregnant women.

"We use the funds specifically for the provision of additional food (PMT) for pregnant women, pregnant women with chronic energy deficiency (KEK), infants and stunted children," said Village Head Liang Sola Adrianus Harsi in Labuan Bajo, Antara, Friday, 20 May

The village fund of IDR 32 million is divided for PMT for pregnant women in the amount of IDR 8.1 million; PMT for infants/toddlers in the amount of Rp. 6 million; PMT for the recovery of stunting children in the amount of Rp. 6 million; and PMT for pregnant women with SEZ in the amount of Rp. 12 million.

Harsi said the village was very serious about using the existing village funds to address the health problem. In 2020, 45 children were stunted, then decreased to 40 in 2021. Thanks to the seriousness of the village, there are now 12 children in 2022 who are still stunted.

For the distribution of PMT for infants and toddlers as well as stunted children, Liang Sola Village has conducted it once centrally and once from house to house.

Furthermore, the village prioritizes home visits for pregnant women who are considered vulnerable pregnant women, such as KEK pregnant women, pregnant women with less nutrition, and pregnant women whose forearm and upper arm circumferences do not meet health standards.

The results of the home visits of midwives and Community Empowerment Cadres (KPM) were discussed internally with the village head to solve problems or obstacles encountered, he said.

Harsi assessed that a thousand days of life from inside the mother's womb to 24 months after the baby was born is an important phase in the treatment of stunting. So that health care at that time was considered a golden period to give birth to a golden generation.

To that end, the village also builds cross-sectoral collaborations such as with the BKKBN and Wahana Visi Indonesia. With this collaboration, posyandu infrastructure facilities are improved to support health service activities for infants/toddlers and pregnant women, such as the provision of modern anthropometry for children to perform measurements of height and weight more optimally.

Furthermore, Liang Sola Village also provides information media about the health sector either through the Liang Sola social media group which can be accessed by every cadre, midwife, health worker, and partners involved in the collaboration.

In collaboration with the BKKBN, Liang Sola Village held an Pregnant Mother's Class for pregnant women so that they understand the meaning of good parenting during pregnancy and the pattern of nutritious food trained by nutrition workers.

The pregnant women class, Harsi continued, is conducted three times a year and is followed by home visits by the midwife to monitor the condition of pregnant women and the problems they face with KPM in Liang Sola Village.

Even Liang Sola Village is trying to make the village a child-friendly village that raises the issue of health, education, and welfare for village children as the target of programs and activities.

"For this, we have entered the stage of collecting data and the problems faced by children in the village. We continue to move based on existing problems and data," he explained.