The 2022 Indonesian Nutritional Status Survey (SSGI) shows that the national prevalence of stunting has decreased to by 2.8% to 21.6% compared to the previous year. Dexa Group collaborates with the National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN), the Indonesian National Police (Polri), and the Regional Government (Pemda) of Wonosobo Regency to educate midwives regarding efforts to prevent stunting in the first 1,000 Days of Life (HPK) so that the target for reducing stunting to 14 percent in 2024 and 17.8 percent in 2023 can be achieved.
This collaboration is reflected in an event called Midwife Education and Stunting Intervention at the Wonosobo Regency Hall, Central Java, on Sunday, May 21, 2023. Present at the event was the Head of the Indonesian BKKBN, Mr. Dr.(H.C.) dr. Hasto Wardoyo, Sp.OG(K), Assistant to the Chief of Police for Operations Inspector General. Pol. Agung Setya Imam Effendi, SH., S.IK., M.Sc., Regent of Wonosobo, Mr. Afif Nurhidayat, Dexa Medica President Director, Mr. V. Hery Sutanto, and Chair of the Central Java Indonesian Midwives Association (IBI), Mrs. Sumarsih, S. ST. , M.H.
“Wonosobo can become a best practice for reducing stunting because the reduction is far above the national level. At the national level, it could only drop by 2.8%, while Wonosobo fell 5.4%. This is amazing,” he explained.
According to Mr. Hasto, education for midwives has an important role because midwives are the most cohesive providers and the closest to rural communities. Midwives must be able to escort from pre-marriage; therefore, the number of accompanying teams reaches more than 2,000 people, while midwives make up one-third or around 670 midwives.
“I asked the midwives to educate the environment, including about marriage, pregnancy, and control at 1,000 HPK. Wonosobo is optimistic to reach 14% because you see the trend is 5%, so it is hoped that it will be achieved in 2024. In 2023 the national target is 17.8-17.9%,” said Hasto.
Meanwhile, the Regent of Wonosobo, Mr. Afif Nurhidayat, said that the reduction in the stunting rate in Wonosobo Regency was supported by the optimization of the Penta helix collaboration, starting from the regional government, the academics, corporations, and non-governmental organizations.
“We have also launched and implemented various programs, including the Healthy Kitchen to Overcome Stunting (DASHAT) to provide nutritious food for stunted children and pregnant women with chronic energy deficiencies, which are cross-sector and private collaborations, joint actions such as the Community Movement to Build Healthy Latrines, Nutrition Response and Stunting Children’s Health, Grebeg Stunting with the hospital. All of them target various layers of society,” he explained.
Assistant Chief of Police for Operations Inspector General. Pol. Agung Setya Imam Effendi added that his party had entered into an MoU between the National Police and the BKKBN to fully support the stunting reduction program with various activities whose objective was to expand services to prevent stunting, including distributing aid.
The head of IBI Central Java, Ms. Sumiarsih, explained the role of midwives in providing health services to women throughout the life cycle through promotive and preventive efforts to reduce stunting.
“Efforts are being made to reduce the prevalence of stunting in pregnant and giving birth women, including seeking quality assurance of integrated antenatal care, organizing programs to provide high-calorie protein and micronutrient foods, organizing counseling on early initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding,” he explained.
Dexa Group’s Contribution to Stunting Prevention
Dexa Medica President Director Mr. V. Hery Sutanto said that the Dexa Group contributed to overcoming stunting with the BKKBN, the National Police, and the Regional Leadership Communication Forum (Forkompinda) by educating midwives in Wonosobo Regency and its surroundings.
As a company in the health sector, Dexa Group also plays a role in creating pharmaceutical product innovations that support stunting intervention efforts, one of which is through the HerbaAsimor product. This product was developed from Indonesia’s natural biodiversity, which plays a role in helping to improve the quality and quantity of breast milk.
“HerbaAsimor from extracts of katuk leaves, torbangun leaves, and the active fraction of snakehead fish helps improve the quality and quantity of breast milk. Based on the results of research on consumers conducted by PT Dexa Medica, as many as 8 out of 10 breastfeeding mothers feel the benefits of HerbaAsimor,” explained Mr. Hery.
“Another innovation is in the field of technology, through the Friends Pregnant application with around 3.7 million users in Indonesia since 2017. This application facilitates midwives to easily provide education about stunting prevention to pregnant women through the collaboration of midwives,” he said.