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Health
impacting
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Indonesia
Sumba is a remote island in Indonesia where government services are limited, health statistics are low, and poverty rates high. Here 1 in 3 children is stunted – often a result of limited access to food supply, poor health, hygiene and/or feeding practices, and/or poverty. Stunting has huge costs for the child and for the economy, as it affects children’s immune systems and brain development well into their adult life.
We know that Mother and Child Health is improved when the basic health structures such community health posts (Posyandu) are in place, the staff and community health volunteers (kader) are well-trained, adequately equipped, able and motivated to deliver health services, and parents have basic knowledge about nutrition, including the importance of a balanced diet for their children.
The Posyandu provide invaluable monthly health services relating to children under five, their parents and pregnant women. They are run by kader and village midwives who are the frontline in tackling mother and child health issues. Unfortunately, these workers often lack adequate training, support or even basic equipment to fulfill their important role.
This project contributes to SurfAid’s overarching 6-year project called NusaTani (meaning ‘Farming Islands’ in Bahasa Indonesia) in Sumba, working to tackle poverty, stunting and malnutrition at a household level through nutrition-sensitive agriculture. This includes educating community members, their leaders and health professionals on nutrition, with a special focus on parents.
SurfAid trained and coached the kader and village midwives to better promote good feeding and care practices among parents and perform growth monitoring of children under five.
SurfAid’s approach includes a focus on securing ongoing village and/or government funding and support. When communities and local governments provide funding or support for activities, it increases their local ownership, which in turn increases security and maintenance of the equipment and crops. The government has been highly enthusiastic and involved in SurfAid’s programs to date. This is a strong positive indictment of SurfAid’s value, results and relevance, and bodes well for its program sustainability.
The snails were abundant during the rainy season but scarce during the dry season, posing a challenge for consistent implementation. The sustainable solutions will be to start snail farming, ensuring a year-round supply and empowering communities to take charge of their nutritional needs.
The overarching program of NusaTani is coming to an end. The program is very successful and has many tangible results.
SurfAid is taking the learning from this successful program to a new program in another remote location in Indonesia, with worse nutritional statistics for children. The program in Rote island was officially opened in August 2023 and is currently in its inception phase. This means that additional information is gathered with the local government and the communities to make sure the best fit-for-purpose interventions are designed and implemented.
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