Chronic malnutrition
Furthermore, limited advocacy, communication, education, and information resources prevent the community from understanding the gravity of stunting. This will in turn obstruct efforts to accelerate stunting reduction in Indonesia. ”We need to perform these efforts across all sectors. Using the multisectoral and multi-party approach, we can educate people more extensively. We crucially need the involvement of relevant ministries and agencies, as well as that of local businesses and regional government, all the way down to village level,” she added.
The six key messages of the “It’s Important to Prevent Stunting” PSA are very simple. However, it is precisely this simplicity that will help the stunting reduction program’s acceleration. The six messages are: one, pregnant mothers must take blood-stimulating tablets every day. Two, pregnant mothers must routinely perform pregnancy checks and take part in pregnancy classes in their local Health Service Centers. Three, if possible (depending on individual condition and complications), pregnant mothers must exclusively feed their babies with mother’s milk until the baby is six months old. Four, we need to regularly wash our hands with soap and running water. Five, we need to use hygienic toilets (and use toilets hygienically as well). Six, yes it’s a repeat, pregnant mothers, nursing mothers, and babies and toddlers must go to the Integrated Medical Service Posts for routine checks every month.
Read: Preventing stunting in children for a bright future
During the same event, dr. Sarah Angelique, M.S., Head of Danone Indonesia’s One Health and Scientific Division, declared that “… Stunting is basically chronic malnutrition. Therefore, satisfying nutrient requirements within the first one thousand days of a child’s life is extremely important to prevent this from happening. Other important factors are the child’s environment and genetics, even though these total only influence 20%. In terms of environment, we can say that the use of hygienic toilets hygienically will definitely reduce infections that may attack the child, which in turn affects their growth and development,” she said.
Finally, we all can agree that no Indonesian child shall be left behind – whether in terms of health, nutrition, or education. Protect Indonesian children, advance Indonesia. (est)