VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - The Indonesian Government will be sharing knowledge and experiences in childhood stunting alleviation with the Government of Laos from September 4 to 7, Spokesperson for the Vice President Masduki Baidlowi said.

According to Baidlowi here Monday, the Vice Presidential Secretariat facilitated the visit of the Laotian delegation.

He elaborated on the secretariat's initiative by citing Presidential Regulation No. 72 of 2021 concerning stunting alleviation acceleration, which assigns the secretariat two main duties, which include providing support to Vice President Ma'ruf Amin, as head of the Stunting Alleviation Acceleration Team.

By tenaciously striving to accelerate efforts to reduce the number of childhood stunting cases, the Indonesian Government is aiming to elevate the health standard of the nation with the end goal of producing superior and competitive human resources, Baidlowi said.

The government has implemented several strategic measures to lower the national stunting prevalence rate to 14 percent by next year, he added.

According to the spokesperson, the government succeeded in suppressing the stunting rate from 30.8 percent in 2018 to 21.6 percent in 2022, which translates into a decline of 9.2 percentage points. The decline is 1.5 times more significant than the one recorded during the 2013–2018 period.

"Various countries, including Laos, are taking notes on the Indonesian Government's commitment, efforts, and achievements in stunting alleviation," Baidlowi said.

He further revealed that earlier on July 21 this year, the Laotian Government, through its Chief Cabinet of Health, submitted a request to conduct a study visit to Indonesia, adding that the Indonesian Government accepted the request and both parties agreed to execute the planned visit from September 4-7.

"(The delegation from) The Government of Laos is visiting us with a focus on learning the Indonesian Government's stunting alleviation planning, budgeting, and implementation processes," he said.

During their visit to Indonesia, the Laotian delegates will participate in two series of activities: workshops and classroom learning, involving related ministries and agencies, as well as field visits.

As part of the workshops, the delegates will attend a presentation given by relevant officials from related ministries and agencies before participating in a technical discussion.

Suprayoga Hadi, the Vice Presidential Secretariat's deputy for human development policies support and equitable development, welcomed the arrival of the Laotian delegates and expressed the hope that Indonesia will be able to provide them with valuable information on stunting alleviation.

He said that based on the Global Nutrition Report, at least 22 percent of the world's children are suffering from stunting, with most of them living in Asia.

"Hence, exchange of knowledge between Asian countries is essential to expedite stunting alleviation," he added.

Hadi then said he expects that Laos will be able to learn and follow in Indonesia's steps in handling stunting, considering Laos' stunting prevalence rate is still stuck at above 30 percent.

As part of their field visits, the Laotian delegation is scheduled to pay a visit to the Finance Ministry's office in Jakarta and the office of the Mayor of Depok in West Java.

Furthermore, the delegation will carry out a firsthand review of stunting alleviation efforts at integrated health posts (posyandus) and learn from Indonesia's Sustainable Food Yard Program.

The visiting Laotian delegation consists of government officials from echelon level 1 and level 2 who are in charge of development planning, international cooperation, as well as financial, social, economic, health, and food matters.

Besides the Vice Presidential Secretariat, the Indonesian Government will get nine ministries/government agencies to outline their programs during the delegation's visit:

1. National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN);

2. Ministry of Finance;

3. Ministry of National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas);

4. Ministry of Health;

5. Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology;

6. Ministry of Agriculture;

7. Ministry of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration;

8. Ministry of Home Affairs; and

9. Ministry of Public Housing and Public Works. (antaranews)