The Yayasan CARE Peduli, supported by PT Amman Mineral, organized a creative video competition with the theme “Let’s Prevent Stunting.” The competition, which attracted 61 participants from various regions across Indonesia, aimed to increase public awareness about stunting, its causes, and ways to prevent it.

Bagus, one of the winners from Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, highlighted the involvement of fathers in child-rearing within households in his video. According to him, fathers play a crucial role in preventing stunting in children.

“I’ve just become a father myself, so I understand how important it is for husbands to support household responsibilities. It’s not just about providing good nutrition for the child, but also about offering emotional support to the wife,” he said.

Bagus, who is also an animated video content creator, expressed hope that his video would serve as a reminder of the significant role husbands play in childcare.

“In the video, it opens with a father saying that earning a living is enough. Then a grandfather character says that it’s not enough. A husband must also help with household chores and be present for his wife to support her mental well-being,” he added.

He hopes that more people will realize that husbands also have a role in domestic work. “I hope the video I created can serve as a learning tool for people to better understand the role of men in the household. May more men be inspired to participate in domestic responsibilities, as a husband’s support is one of the key aspects in preventing stunting,” he said.

Vinita Aliyah, the first-place winner of the competition and a 7th-grade student at SMP 1 Cangkuang in Bandung District, shared that she joined the competition because she was concerned about the many children in her community suffering from malnutrition. This motivated her to spread awareness about growth problems in children and efforts to prevent stunting.

“In my neighborhood, there are still many children suffering from malnutrition. I also want people to know that stunting doesn’t just cause short stature, but also affects children’s intelligence in the future,” she explained.

Vinita said that the video-making process took a week, involving data collection, song writing, filming, and editing. The most challenging part, she said, was writing the song lyrics to match the data.

“The process started with two days of collecting ideas and data, followed by two days of recording the song, and three days of video editing. I did all of this with my mother’s help,” she shared.

Vinita also hopes that people become more aware that stunting can be prevented by avoiding early marriage. She emphasized that the first 1,000 days of life are a crucial phase in a child’s development.

“Child marriage must be prevented. In my opinion, it robs children—especially girls—of their rights. Couples who marry young are also likely not ready to meet their children’s nutritional needs,” she concluded.

According to the 2022 National Nutrition Status Survey (SSGN), the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) reported that stunting prevalence in Indonesia reached 21.6 percent. This means Indonesia is still above the 20 percent threshold considered chronic and in need of serious intervention.

Through the stunting reduction acceleration program in West Sumbawa District (KSB), the Yayasan CARE Peduli, supported by PT Amman Mineral, has been carrying out specific interventions by provision additional nutritious meal (PMT) from 2023 to 2024. A total of 372 children with stunting, 47 children with wasting, and 17 underweight children received 90-day cycles of continuous supplementary feeding from December 2023 to March 2024 and from June to September 2024. The results showed that 30 percent of the children who received the supplementary feeding interventions were no longer stunted, and 87 percent experienced a weight gain of more than 200 grams per month.

In addition, efforts to increase knowledge about nutrition and provide parenting guidance were conducted alongside the PMT so that nutritional improvements could continue after the intervention ended. PMT was also provided to 29 expected mothers with Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED), 16 with anemia, and 23 breastfeeding women, all of whom experienced weight gain during 30-day periods across two cycles in 2023 and 2024. As a result, 83 percent of expected mother with CED recovered, 88 percent were no longer anemia, and 81 percent gained weight.

Sensitive interventions were also implemented in KSB through various capacity-building efforts, such as increasing awareness of gender roles and equality, communication and leadership training, economic empowerment of women’s groups through the formation of Women’s Economic Business Groups (KUMP), training on home garden nutrition, access to clean water, youth engagement and education classes, and financial literacy. These holistic efforts are aimed at preventing stunting, wasting, and underweight conditions in children, as well as CED and anemia in expected mother.

Collaboration with the West Sumbawa District Government was also established. Through efforts to protect women and children, the Women and Child Friendly Villages (DRPPA) initiative was launched. The commitment of the 16 DRPPA villages supported by Yayasan CARE Peduli includes empowering women in entrepreneurship, enhancing the roles of mothers and families—including fathers—in parenting and education, reducing violence against women and children, decreasing child labor, and preventing child marriage. This initiative aligns with efforts to realize the “Ruang Bersama Merah Putih” in KSB, which is also a focus of the Indonesian government.

Writer: Kukuh A. Tohari
Editor: Swiny Adestika