UNAIR NEWS – Stunting is still a serious problem in Indonesia. Therefore, the Faculty of Medicine (FK) and the Faculty of Public Health (FKM) Universitas Airlangga have held a community service in Suci Village, Gresik Regency. Dr. Lestari Sudaryanti, dr., M.Kes said this community service is part of the Higher Education Tri Dharma that UNAIR academic community must carry out. “Stunting is one of the main priorities of the central and regional government that must be addressed immediately with the target of reducing the stunting rate to 14% by 2024,” she said.
“The stunting rate in Indonesia is still around 37% and is likely to increase due to various conditions of Covid-19 pandemic. It certainly threatens the sustainability of the nation’s future generations,” she said.
“The stunting rate in Indonesia is still around 37% and is likely to increase due to various conditions of Covid-19 pandemic. It certainly threatens the sustainability of the nation’s future generations,” she added.
The target of the community service is families with stunting babies in Suci Village. This community service is carried out using a blended method adjusting to the conditions in the field. Ten stunting toddlers became the focus of this community service. “Offline meetings were held at the village hall for the initial toddlers’ check-ups and home visits to determine the condition of environmental sanitation. After that, toddlers’ monitoring is carried out online through the Whatsapp group, “explained Lestari.
The community service ran at a slow pace due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. “The community service should have been carried out from June to August 2021. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the implementation of PPKM in various regions, the implementation was started in August 2021,” she explained.
In dealing with stunting toddlers, the community is trained to make catfish noodles rich in nutrients for toddlers. The training was conducted on Saturday, August 14, 2021, at the Suci Village Hall. Besides being rich in nutrients, catfish is a local commodity that is easy to find. “Catfish is one of the foods with high nutritional value that is very easy to find and affordable. Unfortunately, not all people want to consume the fish for various reasons, such as for its fishy smells,” she explained.
Lestari hoped that the community service could improve public awareness of the stunting problem and create an independent community to handle it. “All components of the community are expected to pay more attention to the stunting problem and immediately take effective and efficient actions to solve it,” she concluded.
Author: Icha Nur Imami Puspita
Editor: Khefti Al Mawalia
