UNAIR NEWS – The problem of stunting has long been a national and global issue. In 2017, President Joko Widodo targeted the stunting prevalence rate in Indonesia to drop to 14 percent by 2024. Although the prevalence rate is starting to decline yearly, the expected prevalence rate may not be fulfilled still by 2024.
Professor of the Faculty of Public Health (FKM) Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR), Prof. Dr. Sri Sumarmi, S.KM., M.Si., said that the challenges in reducing stunting prevalence involve regulatory and data problems at the regional and central levels.
Prof. Mamik said that she, along with the lecturers and students of FKM UNAIR, has often engaged in efforts to deal with stunting in various regions. In these field activities, Prof. Mamik has found many mismatches between national and regional stunting data.
“When a region makes plans, annual data is needed. Meanwhile, Riskesdas (Basic Health Research, ed) only publishes data every five years,” she explained on Monday, November 8, 2021.
These mismatches interfere with the stunting intervention process that requires regularly-updated data, but the data provided by the central government are so different. Therefore, Prof. Mamik advised local governments to use updated regional data. However, the measurement and analysis process must be carried out correctly with standardized tools.
“The problem is that many regions or posyandu (Integrated Healthcare Post) do not yet have standard equipment. Also, the measurement practices are often still inaccurate,” she added in the Online National Scientific Seminar and Forum entitled “Scientific Studies for Convergence of Specific and Sensitive Interventions towards Stunting-Free Indonesia.”
Prof. Mamik also criticized the stunting management plans in the areas which mostly copy and paste from the previous annual plan. “We have met such problems, and the heads of the service themselves acknowledged them. They just changed the year,” said Prof. Mamik.
In that situation, Prof. Mamik assessed that universities could be present to help prevent stunting following the Tri Dharma (Three Pillars) of Higher Education: education, research, and community service.
In terms of education, Prof. Mamik encouraged universities to increase courses or activities that discuss stunting issues. For example, FKM UNAIR includes the issue of stunting in the curriculum through the Nutrition and Evaluation Program.
In addition, many field-work practices and student community services (KKN) are carried out by FKM UNAIR students by applying the sciences of measuring stunting in children, such as the anthropometric methods.
“FKM UNAIR lecturers also often provide advice and assistance. There have been 11 districts that we assist when drafting regulations on stunting prevention. We also provide Posyandu (Integrated Healthcare Post) assistance in 18 districts in East Java,” said Prof. Mamik.
In terms of research, universities can contribute to specific and sensitive interventions in the form of implementation research, which is made and aimed at the real implementation for the community. The results of this research can later provide advice for the government in formulating regulations for handling stunting.
Therefore, Prof. Mamik emphasized the principle of pentahelix collaboration to address the stunting problem in Indonesia. The principle of synergy emphasizes cooperation, commitment, trust, and budget sharing among institutions. (*)
Author: Intang Arifia
Editor: Binti Q. Masruroh
