Stunting audits would not only be beneficial for accelerating stunting reduction, but also efforts to bring down extreme poverty, the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) has said.
“Stunting case audits that are routinely held by the BKKBN with regional heads and teams to accelerate stunting reduction will not only reduce stunting prevalence but also reduce maternal and infant mortality, and extreme poverty,” BKKBN head Hasto Wardoyo said here on Tuesday.
Stunting audits aim to discuss and explore stunting cases that are difficult to overcome by involving experts, such as pediatricians, obstetrics specialists, nutrition specialists, and psychologists, he noted.
Stunting audits can help regions record family conditions and obtain recommendations from experts. However, the data would not be disseminated to the public because it covers personal family information, Wardoyo added.
During the audits, teams record the cause of stunting in children and the factors behind maternal and infant mortality. The variables in the audits will later intersect with extreme poverty variables, such as slums and poor sanitation.
Wardoyo said stunting audits have three benefits, namely recommendations for intervention can be obtained from experts immediately.
Second, the government and related parties can increase their knowledge, while the teams tasked with accelerating the reduction of stunting and extreme poverty can take appropriate steps to alleviate the two problems.
Third, experts can benefit from knowing the spread of stunting and extreme poverty when conducting follow-up studies and minimize higher risks.
Wardoyo said he hopes that all governments will assist officers in the field. Local governments can also seek advice from experts virtually to reduce costs.
He also urged that all the funds that have been provided must be absorbed immediately and put to good use to produce the maximum output from the two priority programs and thereby, support the development of the nation.
“I ask all regional heads to take advantage of the stunting audit funds that have been provided by the government to realize this activity in the field. I find that stunting audit funds in the regions have not been fully absorbed, only 20 percent of them,” he said.
Meanwhile, program officer from the Task Force for the Acceleration of Stunting Reduction Center of BKKBN, Lucy Widasari, informed that there are many cases of premature birth and low birth weight (LBW) and they are the most common causes of death in neonates.
Therefore, local governments must promote the monitoring of the nutritional status and the condition of premature babies on a regular basis to achieve the target of raising superior Indonesians.
“Management of nutritional intake is a challenge due to physical immaturity. Therefore, routine assistance is needed to monitor the baby’s growth and development. It also requires proper stimulation to support the development of premature babies,” Widasari said.
Source: Antara News