Uninhabitable houses are among factors causing stunting in NTT: Jokowi

Timor Tengah Selatan, NTT (ANTARA) – President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on Thursday drew attention to the fact that uninhabitable houses had become one of the factors causing stunting in children in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). “From my direct visit today, we know that on average, people suffering from stunting usually live in uninhabitable houses,” Jokowi told ANTARA in South Central Timor District, NTT, Thursday. During his visit to Kesetnana Village in South Central Timor District, the President stressed on the importance of intervention to solve the problem of uninhabitable houses. Through integrated intervention, the government and related stakeholders could solve the problem of uninhabitable houses, including water and sanitation in households in NTT. “The water issue is not an easy matter. It is also included in the integrated intervention. We are aiming to achieve stunting prevalence at 14 percent,” Jokowi noted.
In addition to the problem of uninhabitable houses, Jokowi highlighted the importance of nutritional intervention in children to reduce the stunting rate. Jokowi noted that conducting nutritional interventions in children with stunting not only requires additional food but also checking the health conditions of the prospective bride and groom that must be prepared before marriage. Monitoring will be conducted by providing assistance to each prospective bride, with the hopes that the couple would be able to provide sufficient nutrition to their child. “The prospective bride must be prepared before getting married. Even if they have a lot of money, but they are lacking knowledge, and it will be wrong,” Jokowi emphasized.
Furthermore, Jokowi urged the central government, local governments, and the community to work together to reduce stunting prevalence to reach 14 percent by 2024. “Without the integrated work of the district/city government, city government, central government, and the entire community, I think it will be very difficult to achieve the targets we have set,” Jokowi remarked. Earlier, data from the 2021 Indonesian Nutrition Status Study (SSGI) showed that South Central Timor District had become the area with the highest stunting rate in NTT, reaching 48.3 percent. In fact, nationally, the district is also ranked first for the stunting prevalence among 246 districts and cities in 12 priority provinces.