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ZeroStunting Peduli Tebet: Small Steps Toward a Stunting-Free Future

12 Jul 2024

Indonesia will need a significant number of well-nourished individuals to build a future generation of intelligent and capable people. To create a good young generation, it is important to have an awareness of consuming nutritional intake for encourage the body's function to give and receive things both from within and from outside.

If we ignore nutritional intake from an early age, in the future we will face a stunted generation as a result. Currently, stunting issues are a main concern for the government because it is related to Indonesia's future. Stunted children are characterized by growth failure during golden age period because of a lack of protein, iron, vitamins, and minerals.

Due to these concerns, ZeroStunting together with the Campaign and Yayasan Dunia Lebih Baik invites public to join as changemakers to upload 4 actions about consuming and creating eggs into delicious food preparations to tackle stunting through the Campaign #ForABetterWorld application. As an animal protein, eggs were chosen as a tool because contain various benefits at an affordable price. By completing these actions, each changemaker effectively donates IDR 40,000.00 to the cause.

From October 2023 to February 2024, the campaign successfully enlisted 200 changemakers who raised Rp7,160,000.00. This initiative aimed to enhance the nutrition of young children, through the ZeroStunting Peduli Tebet: Langkah Kecil untuk Masa Depan Bebas Stunting. The program's results were showcased on July 11, 2024, at RPTRA Tebet in South Jakarta.

Eggs as Heroes to Prevent Stunting

Engaged in providing animal protein in the form of chicken eggs, dr. Lukmanul Hafiz as Head of Stunting Program explained that the implementation of the ZeroStunting Peduli Tebet program has three main activities; nutrition workshops, cooking demonstrations, and providing eggs to increase awareness of the importance of consuming a balanced nutritional intake, especially animal protein during the First 1000 Days of Life.

Targeting 124 children under five aged 12 to 60 months, ZeroStunting Peduli Tebet also invited 7 sub-districts in Tebet, namely Menteng Dalam, Tebet Barat, Tebet Timur, Kebon Baru, Bukit Duri, Manggarai, dan Manggarai Selatan to actively participate in balanced nutrition education activities.

Adham Azis from Yayasan Dunia Lebih Baik and Campaign emphasized that small contributions by changemakers have a big impact on children's lives in the future. Handling stunting is our responsibility, not just a personal responsibility.

“We try to share the benefits with friends who need them. "Through this event, we hope that everyone can help each other to reduce stunting in Indonesia by sharing these issues with friends on social media to spread public awareness."

As the host of the activity, Mr. Dyan Erlangga as Head of Tebet District, ZeroStunting Peduli Tebet program is a good initiative to improve the quality of human resources from an early age to produce a superior generation in the future. In bringing the condition to #ZeroStunting, he highlighted parents to provide the best nutrition for their children.

“Getting out of the stunting zone is possible, we must focus and collaborate. Don't make stunting a disgrace, but let's make this moment a starting point to make our children better by focusing on providing good nutrition for children."

After the speech, the eggs were symbolically handed over to 7 representatives of toddlers from each sub-district as a symbol of handling stunting.

#1day1egg: Campaign to Grow Tebet Children's Smiles

Following the symbolic handover of the eggs, the event continued with a nutrition workshop featuring Mrs. Ariyanti Budiani, S.Gz, a nutrition expert from Puskesmas Tebet. She delivered educational material on nutrition and the "isi piringku" concept. Mrs. Ariyanti highlighted the importance of parents carefully considering food portions and sources to enhance children's nutritional status. She emphasized that nutritious food intake significantly contributes to children's growth and development, making them active and intelligent in their responses.

"Animal protein should be prioritized in a child's diet during growth and development. The portions of rice and animal protein must be balanced, with no larger portion of rice, as it can lead to early-onset diabetes. The key is to prioritize animal protein."

During the presentation of nutritional education material, parents were enthusiastic about learning more about the quality of nutritious food, tips so that children do not have difficulty eating, and arranging children's eating schedules.

To inspire mothers and cadres to provide optimal nutrition for their children, the presentation was complemented by a nutrition demonstration. The PKK team prepared chicken tofu egg soup as a nutritious food option. These cooking demonstrations encouraged parents to innovate and create appealing, balanced nutritious meals to attract children's interest.

After cooking demonstration, the distribution of 10 free eggs to each toddler was carried out as a specific intervention to ensure they continue to consume good nutritional intake every day. At the end of the activity, each toddler also received a gift bag containing smart posters, coloring book, geometric puzzle, and baby rattle to fulfill their playing and learning needs during their growth and development. Through the ZeroStunting Peduli Tebet program activities, it is hoped that it will become a useful educational forum for parents to provide balanced nutrition for children's growth and development to realize #ZeroStunting Indonesia in the future.