BENGKULU, PROGRES.ID – The Bengkulu Provincial Government (Pemprov) claims that the number of stunting cases in Bengkulu Province has sharply declined, to the point where it can be said that there are no longer any cases.
This was stated by the Secretary of Bengkulu Province, Hamka Sabri, during his speech and opening of the Technical Guidance for the Eight Convergence Actions to Accelerate Stunting Reduction in Districts/Cities in 2023, at a hotel in the West Ring Road area of Bengkulu City on Tuesday (28/2/2023).
Hamka Sabri stated that there are two principles that must be followed in addressing stunting. First, make sure that no more children are born stunted. Second, reduce the stunting rate if there are still cases.
According to Hamka, during the 1000-day infant stunting period, it is still possible to correct it by providing adequate nutrition.
Regarding the Technical Guidance for the Eight Convergence Actions to Accelerate Stunting Reduction in Districts/Cities in 2023, Hamka Sabri expressed his support and appreciation. He said that activities like this can be a supportive means of addressing stunting in Bengkulu Province.
“We strongly support today’s eight steps or convergence actions to take steps to reduce and prevent stunting rates in Bengkulu Province. Alhamdulillah, we have direct sources from the Director General of Regional Development and from the Sumatra Regional Data Coordinator,” said Hamka.
Hamka Sabru also hopes that the participants from all over Bengkulu Province can take the lessons given by the speakers seriously and understand them. He reminded that President Joko Widodo had emphasized that the target of reducing stunting rates by 14 percent must be achieved by 2024.
“We hope that the participants can really pay attention to and understand what the speakers will convey. More than that, they should follow up in their respective districts so that we can achieve the national stunting reduction target in 2024,” hoped Hamka.
Meanwhile, the Head of the Bengkulu Provincial Planning, Research, and Development Agency (Bappeda), Isnan Fajri, said that Bappeda will continue to monitor the decline in stunting rates through coordination involving parties with competence in stunting mitigation.
“Indeed, according to national data, Bengkulu Province is no longer in the top 12, and we are now at the national level of 27. We still have to chase the lowest possible stunting rate,” explained Isnan Fajri.
Based on data from the 2022 Indonesia Nutritional Status Survey (SSGI) from the Ministry of Health, the stunting rate of children under five in Bengkulu Province was at 19.8 percent, down from 22.10 percent in 2021. Meanwhile, the national stunting rate for children under five in Indonesia reached 21.6% in 2022.
