Kupastuntas.co, Lampung English - The Provincial Government of Lampung has paid special attention to the handling of stunting in four regions which, based on the results of the 2022 Sustainable Development Goals, have increased.

Deputy Governor of Lampung, Chusnunia Chalim revealed, the four regions that have a high prevalence of stunting are Pesawaran Regency, which is 25.1; North Lampung 24.7; East Lampung 18.1 and Mesuji 22.5.

"Based on the assessment of the 2022 Sustainable Development Goals yesterday, there are four areas that we need to assist intensively due to an increase in the prevalence of stunting. This is a common concern," said Chusnunia, Tuesday 4 April 2023.

Nunik, as Chusnunia is called, explained that there were several possibilities that caused the stunting rate in the four areas to increase. Such as the culture of Open Defecation Free or Stop Open Defecation which is not yet running.

“Factors that are thought to have caused stunting to increase are not only stunting but also the Open Defecation Free rate. If you don't pay attention to sanitation and get pregnant, then stunting has the potential to be prevented," he said.

He said, in the near future his party would soon hold a coordination meeting with districts/cities to align work programs between agencies, especially those that focus on tackling stunting.

"There have been good declines such as in Tanggamus and Central Lampung. We want to be more detailed in establishing cooperation, for areas that are already good and those that are still high, we will align what work programs can be carried out so that all will go down," he said.

Apart from that, he also asked the local government to provide an allocation of funds through the 2023 Revised Regional Expenditure Budget and also the pure 2024 Regional Expenditure Budget specifically for handling stunting.

“The budget must also be focused because now we can be flexible. Last year the budget was for handling Covid-19 but now there is an allowance. This is used for infrastructure such as weighing or nutrition interventions and health workers," he said.

The Head of the Lampung Provincial Health Office, Reihana revealed, the main cause of short toddlers is due to a lack of animal protein intake even when the child is still in the womb.

"After being evaluated by a team of experts, it turns out that the main cause of stunting is due to a lack of animal protein. Prevention of stunting must start before marriage, namely by consuming animal protein," he said some time ago.

Reihana said, currently the stunting prevalence rate in Lampung Province is 15.2 percent and in 2024 the stunting prevalence is targeted to decrease to 14 percent.

"The president wants the stunting rate to be 14 percent in 2024. So hopefully Lampung can reach that target and currently the national stunting rate is still 21 percent but we are already 15.2 percent," he explained.

As is known, the prevalence of stunting in Lampung in 2022 has decreased significantly. Where the stunting rate in Lampung was 15.8 percent while in the previous year it was still at 18.8 percent. (*)

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