Nutrition for National Competitiveness

KOMPAS/SAMUEL OKTORA

Dorkas Tuaoni holds her granddaughter, Filia Tuaoni (second right), on her lap in their home on Dec. 23, 2018 in Oh\'aem I village of South Amfoang district, Kupang regency, East Nusa Tenggara. Weighing 6.7 kilograms in November 2018, Filia suffered from malnutrition, but after receiving monitoring and guidance from a posyandu (integrated health service post) worker, she gained 500 grams.

Human resource quality determines a nation’s competitiveness. We must therefore ensure that all Indonesian children have adequate nutritional intake.

Indonesia is facing a two-pronged nutritional problem. Some children are obese while others suffer from malnutrition, which can cause stunted physical and mental development.

According to the Basic Health Survey (Riskesdas), 30.8 percent of children under 5 across the nation suffered from stunting in 2018. Despite the high figure, this is a decrease from 2007-2013, during which the stunting rate remained relatively stagnant between 36.8 percent and 37.2 percent.

The World Bank took notice of the improvement, and Indonesia’s fight against stunting became a global model of combating nutritional problems in children. The first three years of life is the golden period for nurturing children’s physical and mental development, which will determine their quality of life in adulthood.

On the other hand, improvements in nutrition are not equally spread across the country. Eastern Indonesia constantly has a higher percentage of stunted children compared to the rest of the country. Riskesdas data shows that East Nusa Tenggara, for instance, has a higher percentage of stunted children than the national average, reaching 51.7 percent in 2018 and 42.6 percent in 2018. Childhood stunting is the tip of the iceberg and symptomatic of a much bigger problem.

Malnutrition is often linked to poverty. Poverty causes families to have low purchasing power for accessing nutritional foods. Poverty causes families to lack access to knowledge on balanced nutrition that can be obtained from their immediate environment, such as from plants and cattle. Malnutrition can also be due to lack of knowledge, even if families possess adequate financial capability. The availability of basic needs, such as clean water and sanitation facilities like toilets, also affects childhood nutrition.

We urge the central government to design a national program that will force regional administrations to improve nutritional quality for children. Posyandu (integrated health service posts) and primary and secondary schools are the means of prompting behavioral change towards the healthier lifestyle of consuming balanced and healthy foods. We may also develop customary knowledge to improve access to nutritional foods.

The nation has been promoting comprehensive policies on human development since the 1980s. However, we still face the problem of childhood malnutrition, even today. We need consistent short, medium and long-term policies and strategies, regardless of a change in regime, if we wish to be competitive among other nations in the world.