Stunting is not only affected a child’s ability to grow, and have proper height, but stunting also affects children’s cognitive ability. In our previous article, you are able to know that Indonesia is the 5th position state with the highest number of stunting in the world. In order to flatten the curve, stunting become one of the national priorities programs of Indonesia. How far is the effect of stunting on children’s cognitive ability? Is there any way we could prevent it? Read the following information.
Indonesia Children’s Ability Rate
Referring to the data of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), captured a chronic problem of Indonesia, namely the poor quality of education. Data published in 2019, showed that Indonesian Children’s ability on reading, science, and math skills, are lags behind 74 out of 79 countries.
This unsatisfactory record is also shown in the ranking of children’s intelligence at the ASEAN regional level, where the intelligence level of Indonesian children is ranked 5 out of 10 countries. Many assumptions are stated by the scholars, that this problem is caused by the poor quality of the curriculum, teaching staff to the economic conditions.
The High Case of Stunting in Indonesia
The high level of structural poverty in Indonesia leads to several other problems such as stunting and the low level of intelligence of children. The stunting rate in Indonesia is still at 27.67%. This figure is far above the tolerance limit for the burden of stunting children set by the World Health Organization (WHO), which is 20%.
This figure brings Indonesia to the fifth highest position with the highest burden of stunting children in the world. These three problems are then included in the priority program of the Government of Indonesia in order to create the Golden Generation of Indonesia 2045.
The Effect of Stunting on Children’s Cognitive Ability
The main factor of stunting is relays on parental feeding style that could not meet the nutritional needs of children for a long time. This will have a negative impact on the level of cognitive and motoric development of children. Therefore children with stunting will experience chronic growth failure in the body and brain. This failure can cause a child’s lack of ability to interact and reduce the child’s intelligence level which results in low IQ levels in children.
Government’s Commitment to Flatten the Curve
This complex circle that is formed by stunting and the level of intelligence of children, prompted the Indonesian government to release the #IndonesiaCegahStunting program by prioritizing Posyandu and Puskesmas in an effort to reduce the number of stunting children in Indonesia. Through Posyandu and Puskesmas, parents can monitor the development of children from 0-24 months for FREE.
This monitoring process has become a Puskesmas and Posyandu program which is monitored through the Kartu Sehat. In addition, there are several supporting programs such as:
- The distribution of Vitamin A capsules
- Praktek Pemberian Makan Bayi dan Anak (PMBA)
- Nutrition Counseling Class
- Counseling Class for Maternal Women
The most important program is regularly monitoring children’s growth and development through measurement of body weight and length. What needs to be underlined is that all Posyandu programs can be accessed for FREE.
Stunting Early Prevention by Body Measurement
The Indonesian government continues to strive to reduce the number of stunted children in Indonesia. One of the main efforts is routine monitoring of child development since the first 1000. Minister of Health Regulation sets standard baby measurement tools. It is the Regulation of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia No. 2 of 2019 such as Infantometer Board, Stadiometer, and Stunting Kit. These tools have been used in various health institutions in Indonesia.
Stadiometer 
Infantometer 
Solo Abadi Indonesia, is the biggest producer of Medical Devices in Indonesia. Our company continues to support the #IndonesiaCegahStunting program by applying the standards of the Minister of Health Regulation in its product. For more information, please visit our website www.soloabadi.com and contact us on WhatsApp for further consultation.
