Children’s Nutritional Needs Become a Multi-Billion-Dollar Priority

The Indonesian government is investing approximately $3.9 billion per year in nutritional interventions for babies and children to eradicate the many cases of impaired growth and development, known as stunting.

The National Strategy to Accelerate Stunting Prevention came into law in 2021. However, similar movements have been in the works since 2017 and thus far, roughly 3.9 million mothers and 10.6 million children under the age of two have benefited from such programs.

Stunting is primarily caused by malnutrition and frequent infections early in life. The government support program addresses these issues for the first 1000 days of a child’s life. So far, Indonesia has seen a significant drop in childhood stunting, standing at 30.8 percent in 2018 and dropping to 24.4 percent by 2021. An ambitious goal of reaching a 14 percent stunting rate by 2024 has been set.