Which Province Had the Highest Stunting Rate in 2017?

Based on the 2017 Nutritional Status Monitoring (PSG) results, the prevalence of stunting among children under five years old (under-five children) in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) reached 40.3%. This figure is the highest among other provinces and also above the national stunting prevalence of 29.6%. The prevalence of stunting in NTT consists of 18% of children categorized as very short and 22.3% categorized as short.

Meanwhile, the province with the lowest prevalence of stunting among under-five children is Bali, reaching only 19.1%. This figure consists of 4.9% of under-five children categorized as very short and 14.2% categorized as short. Last year's PSG results recorded that the prevalence of under-five children experiencing stunting was 29.6%, higher than the previous year's 27.5%. However, in 2019, stunting was targeted to decrease to 28%.

Stunting is a chronic malnutrition problem caused by insufficient nutritional intake, resulting in children having a height below the standard for their age/being short. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the maximum limit for stunting in children is 20%. This means that stunting among under-five children in Indonesia is currently above the tolerance limit set by the World Health Organization.

(Read Katadata: Short Children, A Major Challenge for Jokowi in His Final Year of Governance)