TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta Acting Governor Heru Budi Hartono encouraged pregnant women to conduct routine screening in a bid to prevent stunting. At present, he claimed there are 140,000 women who are expecting babies.

“I call on pregnant mothers not to be lazy but consistently check their pregnancy to Puskesmas (community health center) or Posyandu (integrated health service post). We, along with the Health Ministry, can then intervene if pregnant women are malnourished,” said Heru Budi in Jakarta City Hall, Wednesday, February 1, 2023.

The provincial government and the Health Ministry held a meeting to discuss malnutrition alleviation. The Presidential Secretariat Head opined that the first step to addressing such cases is synchronizing data with the executive.

Apart from that, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin demanded Jakarta distribute vitamins and food to children in junior high schools. They both would also synergize health programs that focus on two vulnerable groups, pregnant women and 6 to 24-month-old babies.

Minister Budi also lauded the capital’s efforts in reducing malnourishment. “Based on the survey data of Indonesian nutritional status, Jakarta [stunting rate] drops to 14.8 percent. So it nearly reaches the national target. Jakarta is the second-best province of all 38 provinces,” he explained.

The Health Ministry used survey data on the stunting rate which is updated annually. “Since the past few years, the data used are based on the Indonesian nutritional status survey. It used to be conducted once every three years, now we do it once a year,” Budi said.

MUTIA YUANTISYA

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