Vice President Ma'ruf Amin Finds A Number Of Constraints Against Stunting Cases: Weak Governance And Human Resources Capacity

Screenshot of Vice President Maruf Amin gave directions at the 2022 Stunting National Forum in Jakarta, Tuesday (6/12/2022). ANTARA

JAKARTA - Vice President Ma’ruf Amin observed that there were still several problems related to efforts to accelerate stunting reduction that needed to be addressed together. "I still note that there are still several problems in the field, especially the results of integrated assistance in 12 priority provinces that have been jointly carried out by ministries and institutions," said Ma'ruf at the 2022 Stunting National Forum in Jakarta, Antara, Tuesday, December 6. The first problem, said Ma'ruf, is related to governance, the implementation of specific interventions, and sensitive interventions. "The big problem in governance is coordination. I ask that coordination between institutions at all levels of government be addressed," he explained. He asked governors and deputy governors, regents and deputy regents, mayors and deputy mayors, sub-district heads, village heads and village heads, to directly lead the coordination of program implementation within their scope of authority. The second problem is at the forefront of program implementation, namely the perpetrators at the village and community levels, where the capacity of human resources, the availability of facilities and infrastructure, coordination between implementers, and operational support still need to be optimized. Vice President Ma'ruf emphasized that many cadres accelerate stunting reduction who voluntarily work in the field. According to him, these cadres need good coordination and division of roles and need to be equipped with knowledge, work tools, as well as sufficient operational support. "Posyandu cadres, PKK Mobilization Team, Family Planning Extension Officers, Village Midwives, Sanitation Cadres, Human Development Cadres, Youth Organizations, Health Center Officers and other activists are very potential as the front line that we can rely on," he said. The vice president also asked ministries and institutions that structurally have cadres in the field, together with governors, regents, mayors, sub-district heads, village heads, and lurah, to strengthen the coordination of activists in the field, increase capacity, and provide support for the implementation of their duties. On that occasion, he conveyed that the 2022 National Stunting Forum was an important moment to evaluate, introspect, and reflect. Because the time to go to the target of 14 percent is only less than two years left. “Alhamdulillah, the prevalence of stunting was successfully lowered from 30.8 percent in 2018 to 24.4 percent in 2021. We are still waiting for the results of the 2022 Indonesian Nutrition Status Study by the Ministry of Health. By considering the hard work, smart work, and collaborative work that has been encouraged so far, I hope that the downward trend in stunting prevalence will also continue this year,” he hoped, Meanwhile, the Head of the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) Hasto Wardoyo in his report said that stunting problems were still the main concern of the government, in order to prepare superior human resources in achieving advanced Indonesia. He said that based on data from the World Bank, Indonesia's human capital index is still at the order of 130 out of 199 countries, one of which is because the quality of Indonesian human resources still has to be motivated. He conveyed that the quality of Indonesian human resources was also reflected in the current stunting rate of 24.4 percent. Based on the direction of the President and Vice President, in 2024 Indonesia must be able to reach the stunting rate of 14 percent. "From several years before 2022, stunting reduction has never passed 2 percent per year. According to the direction of the Vice President in 2022, it is hoped that optimizing the reduction in stunting rates can reach 3 percent, so that it can be projected that by 2024 it can reach 14 percent. Therefore, we need to work hard in order to achieve this target, "said Hasto.