Overcoming Stunting, IPB University KKNT Innovation Students in Dampyak Village Create New Breakthroughs
Stunting is no longer new information for Indonesian citizens. This incident is often found in Indonesian children, including in Dampyak Village, Kramat District, Tegal, Central Java.
Zalfa Novianita, IPB University student, explained that even though the number of stunting in Dampyak Village is relatively low, regular monitoring, prevention and treatment must still be carried out, especially for children indicated to be stunted.
Zalfa, who is currently undergoing the Innovation Real-Thematic Lecture (KKNT) program in Dampyak Village, said that the program that had been initiated by the sub-district to overcome stunting was quite adequate. One of them is routine child checks every month which are held at posyandu in every RW.
Apart from that, there is also monitoring of the growth of pregnant women and children who are indicated to be affected by stunting, as well as a supplementary feeding program (PMT) for pregnant women and children.
Based on discussions between KKNT Innovation students and a number of parties, the program has been running smoothly so far, but there are a few problems. According to Robiatun, one of the residents, the main problem in this stunting prevention program is the inconsistency of mothers taking their children to the posyandu every month so that its development is not supervised by posyandu cadres.
“Various methods have been used to get mothers to bring their children back to the posyandu regularly, such as reminding them directly, or visiting them directly from house to house, which turned out to be ineffective,” she said.
Responding to this problem, IPB University KKNT Innovation students decided to create the Dampyak Healthy Children’s Movement (GAS Dampyak) program. This program takes the form of education using brochures containing information about the dangers of stunting. The information provided includes dangers, prevention and handling methods, as well as recommendations for healthy food menus.
“Even though it is dense in information, the brochure we created does not reduce its aesthetic value so it is easy and interesting to read. With this brochure, it is hoped that it will be useful for mothers with toddlers,” said Zalfa, who is also the leader of the program.
“Hopefully in the future mothers will be more active and diligent in going to posyandu to measure and weigh their children,” added Nadila Faiza, another IPB University student. (*/Rz) (IAAS/HNJ)
