Jakarta, IO – As a group, children are vulnerable to health issues. According to the Indonesian Nutrition Status Survey, the prevalence of stunting in Indonesia has declined from 24.4% in 2021 to 21.6% in 2022.
Stunting is a chronic problem caused by insufficient nutrition, especially in the first thousand days of life. Over the long term, this will obstruct a child’s growth and development. According to drg. Widyawati, MKM, the Ministry of Health Acting Director of Health Promotion and Community Empowerment, it is very difficult to handle a child who is already stunted, unlike dealing with a child who “merely” suffers from malnutrition.
“We will continue to educate people according to the purpose of transforming our primary health services, which is part of the effort to create safe and healthy environs for our children. Children are categorized as ‘babies’ until they are a year old, ‘toddlers until they are five, ‘children’ when they are 5-9 years old, and ‘teens’ when they are 10-18 years of age. The Ministry of Health supports innovative actions that help children grow into the next healthy and productive generation of adults,” she declared in the National Children Day 2023 public discussion “Bringing Safe and Healthy Environs for Children a Reality” public discussion, organized jointly by Takeda, the Ministry of Women Empowerment & Child Protection, and the University of Indonesia Center for Social Security Studies, Tuesday (15/8/2023).
In addition to stunting, the Government’s priority programs for the welfare of children include education relating to malnutrition, obesity, maternal and neonatal abnormalities, enteric infections, immunization, tuberculosis, and prevention of early smoking. “There are three health promotion approaches that we use to create a safe and healthy environs for children a reality: First, behavioral change communication, which encourages the transformation of a new behavior into a habit. Second, demand creation, which increases the demand for a specific health product or service within a certain period. Third, enabling environment, which is the creation of an environment that is conducive to the desired change in behavior,” drg. Widyawati said.
Peers and Prices – Their Role
During the same event, dr. Hasbullah Thabrany, MPH, Dr.PH, Chairman of the National Committee for Tobacco Control, reiterates that the Ministry of Health must continuously disseminate the dangers of cigarettes, as part of its effort to reduce the number of child smokers. Indonesia is the country with the highest number of child smokers in the world. In fact, 20% of our middle school children (or 7th-9th grade students) smoke.
“How come? Because cigarette ads are everywhere. Cigarette smoking is closely related to the child’s peers and the price range of tobacco products. Studies show that 60% of children who start smoking young tend to relapse easily. Once addicted, they are going to continue smoking until adulthood and death. For the next 30-40 years, they will invest a sizable part of their income in cigarettes. It’s a gold mine for the cigarette industry,” dr. Hasbullah reported grimly, “Cigarette levies, which generate Rp 230 trillion for the State’s treasury, is actually not a contribution of the cigarette industry to our economy. On the contrary, it is the compensation for the expenses incurred by citizens who become seriously weakened or ill because of smoking.”
According to the Health Baseline Study, the prevalence of child smokers aged 10-18, which was 7.2% in 2013, increased to 9.1% in 2018. “To be honest, the National Committee for Tobacco Control has not succeeded in reducing the prevalence of smokers from 9.1% to the 8.7% target in the 2020-2024 National Medium-Term Development Plan. We are also unsuccessful in getting the Government to ban cigarette ads, to disallow the sale and purchase of single sticks of cigarette, or to raise cigarette prices. We need everybody to cooperate if we want to reduce the number of child smokers,” dr. Hasbullah sighed.
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Meanwhile, Iing Mursalin, the Program Lead Manager of the Vice President Secretariat’s Stunted Children Prevention Acceleration Team, declares that everyone must agree that children are our investment for the future, and that stunting is a threat to our human resource development. Not only will stunted children have lower cognitive development, they also have a higher risk of chronic diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular disease as they become adults. 2%-3% of our gross domestic product is lost a year because of stunting. With Indonesia’s GDP at Rp 15,000 trillion in 2020, the estimated loss we sustain because of stunting is Rp 450 trillion a year.
“According to a World Bank study, nutritional investment in a child will be returned 48-fold. By investing a mere 1 rupiah, we will gain 48 rupiah in due time. Just do the math. On the contrary, unhealthy children have 10- 11 points lower IQ than their healthy peers, and this will greatly affect their lives as adults. The entire effort is an uphill climb, as 69.4% of children in Indonesia live with at least 1 smoking adult, and we know how children will imitate their elders. By providing safe and healthy environs for children, we will generate a ‘generasi emas’ or golden generation, instead of ‘generasi cemas’ or anxious generation by 2045. Before that, we should be getting a demographic bonus in 2030 instead of demographic burden,” said Iing hopefully. (est)