Indonesia: Stronger collaboration with World Bank needed to reduce stunting, says Ma’ruf Amin

Jakarta, The Gulf Observer: While receiving a World Bank delegation at the Vice President’s Palace on Wednesday, Vice President Ma’ruf Amin expressed his expectation of an improvement in partnership with the global organization to address stunting in Indonesia.

“We still really need partnerships with international institutions, with the World Bank, with UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), to be able to address (stunting cases),” he said, according to a press release issued the same day.

Through cooperation and collaboration with international institutions, the government is continuing to pursue efforts to reduce the stunting rate to 14 percent by 2024 in order to build superior and highly competitive human resources.

Amin said the government has continued to formulate strategies to reduce the stunting rate in Indonesia through the convergence, collaboration, and exploration of all the potential that the nation has.

He further said that the efforts have involved building synergy and collaboration among stakeholders, such as ministries and agencies, regional governments, and the private sector, under the coordination of the National Population and Family Planning Agency.

“So, it is this collaborative work that we rely on; so, we have mapped out that this year, a 5-percent reduction will be achieved through the steps that have been programmed,” the Vice President noted.

At the meeting with the World Bank delegates, the Vice President expressed his appreciation for the assistance and support that the World Bank has extended to the program to achieve stunting reduction in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, vice president for human development at the World Bank, Mamta Murthi, said that the organization will provide full funding support for the goal.

“We will continue to support to provide additional funding and will expedite financial support,” Murthi stated.

The World Bank will also continue to collaborate with ministries and agencies as well as offer funding to support efforts to reduce the stunting rate in the next 6 to 12 months.