Stunting case audit is a priority activity that has continued to be intensified under the government’s national program for expediting stunting reduction, the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) has said.

There are several stunting cases that have not been resolved well, BKKBN head Hasto Wardoyo noted in a statement issued on Friday.

Through stunting case audit, these issues can be resolved by the local stunting reduction acceleration team, he informed during the “2023 Stunting Case Audit Reflection” event, which was held in a hybrid format on Wednesday.

The program will involve experts in discussions and present existing stunting cases to encourage an immediate response from clinicians, nutritionists, and psychologists. In 2023, BKKBN also plans data collection allocation for the stunting case audit.

Wardoyo said he expects that from January 2023, the stunting case audit will be completed in the first trimester and there will be coordination between the Special Allocation Fund (DAK) handling teams at the central, provincial, and regional levels.

It is also hoped that fund disbursement for DAK, especially of stunting-related funds, can be expedited, he added.

The result of the audit should be integrated with the Foster Fathers for Stunting Children (BAAS) program in regions that need assistance, he said.

This would strengthen various data-based practices that can truly help resolve foundational problems on the field.

The agency expects the Stunting Task Force and related regional governments to actively involve themselves and understand the problem of stunting clinically within their regions.

This would help them look for solutions publicly.

“To this end, I remind all districts or cities to actively involve themselves and conduct this stunting case audit in 2023,” he said.

Meanwhile, prosperous family and family empowerment deputy at BKKBN Nopian Andusti said that there are many good practices within the stunting case audit that can be learned together and make a real contribution to stunting reduction.

The “Stunting Case Audit Reflection” program is expected to evaluate the stunting case audit in 2022, he added.

The audit is also expected to motivate all stakeholders to improve the 2023 stunting case audit reporting, planning, and monitoring implementation, he noted.

Source: Antara News