Ministry of Population Prepares SOP to Prevent Stunting During Free Nutritious Meal Distribution
Ciamis, West Java — The Ministry of Population and Family Development (Kemendukbangga/BKKBN) is preparing Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) regarding stunting prevention for family assistance teams (TPK) responsible for distributing Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) targeting pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers (3B).
During a working visit to Ciamis Regency, West Java, on Tuesday, the Head of BKKBN, Wihaji, stated that the agency is ensuring incentives for the TPK distributing the MBG 3B continue to flow. He also emphasised that the Nutrition Fulfilment Service Units (SPPG) must function without issues to guarantee food safety and nutritional quality for the target groups to prevent stunting.
“We already have guidelines for the TPK. We are creating an SOP so that the TPK accompanies prospective brides, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, toddlers, adolescents, and the elderly, specifically focusing on the first one thousand days of life (ages 0-2 years). We are ensuring they have guidelines to address potential stunting risks,” he said.
He explained that under the new SOP, it has been decided which TPK members will accompany the 3B targets based on specific data to ensure distribution is precisely targeted.
“Therefore, it will be clear for all of them; we will have the data, such as how many families you are assisting—for example, 10 or 20 families—so that our performance becomes more structured in the future,” Wihaji added.
The Ministry also ensured that the SOP will be strictly adhered to, so that if any problems are discovered in the future, they can be addressed swiftly.
“We are ensuring everything is in order; in Ciamis, it is good, and we have also checked that stunting prevalence has significantly decreased,” Wihaji noted.
He explained that Kemendukbangga/BKKBN has 600,000 TPK members spread across Indonesia. Today, the agency gathered approximately one thousand TPK members to ensure that the new mandate from President Prabowo Subianto is executed correctly.
“We will continue to provide assistance because stunting is not just about nutritional intake; there is also clean water, early marriage, sanitation, and other important factors like education. There are even cases, if I may say, where children from wealthy families are at risk of stunting,” he explained.
According to Wihaji, the potential for stunting in middle-to-upper-class families is partly due to parents frequently leaving toddlers in the care of domestic helpers without proper supervision.
“The domestic helper’s priority is often just making sure the child doesn’t cry, often by providing sugary foods. Regrettably, there are several stunting cases that do not stem from poverty; even wealthy families face these issues. Therefore, we are providing education to the TPK, which will then be communicated to all families,” he concluded.