Sumedang Regency Reduces Stunting Rate to 8.27 Percent

Sumedang Regent Dony Ahmad Munir delivers a press statement at the Presidential Office in Jakarta, Monday (01/02). (Photo by: PR of Cabinet Secretariat/Rahmat)

Sumedang regency government has announced it has successfully reduced stunting rate from 32.27 percent in 2018 to 8.27 percent in 2022.

According to Sumedang Regent Dony Ahmad Munir, the regency reported a significant stunting rate decline thanks to the use of the electronic government system (SPBE).

“We adopt the electronic government system as a tool. We have a platform called Simpati (Integrated Stunting Management Information System),” he said in his press statement at Presidential Office in Jakarta after a limited meeting on acceleration of stunting reduction using SPBE led by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, Monday (01/02).

Dony also pointed out that the platform connects various stakeholders, including integrated health post team to keep a record of children’s weight and height and regional governments, community health centers, village apparatus, and other offices to receive reports related to stunting, adding that parents and the public can also use the app to check children’s nutrition status.

“This platform provides spatial data, showing which subdistrict and which village has the highest stunting prevalence. It also has statistical data, keeping a record of names and addresses, those who have stunting. It also has analytical data, the cause of stunting in each village,” he said.

The recommendation for stunting intervention, he added, is formulated based on issues that reported in each village using artificial intelligence.

“Each village reports different stunting issues. We use artificial intelligence to provide the recommendation so intervention for each village’s stunting issue varies,” he said, adding that collaboration among stakeholders in stunting interventions is of great importance.

“The SPBE is not only a technological matter but also an e-governance matter. It relates to people and good governance. Every leader must be able to orchestrate and mobilize everyone to join hands to tackle stunting,” he said, adding that the President has ordered him to share his experience in handling stunting using the SPBE with all regional leaders across Indonesia.

“What we build must be based on data. This is the key. Good data makes good decisions and good results,” he said, while expressing hope that his experience and the use of electronic system can help accelerate stunting reduction in the country. (FID/UN) (DH/EP)