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Accelerating stunting reduction is one of the national priority programs. Stunting is prevalent not only in Indonesia but also in various countries.
According to UNICEF, stunting is caused by malnutrition in children during their first two years, inadequate maternal nutrition during pregnancy, and poor sanitation.
The prevalence of stunting in Indonesia currently stands at 21.6%, with a target of reducing it to 14% by 2024. To achieve this goal, collective efforts are needed, starting from the smallest unit in society: the family.
Five UGM students, part of the Student Creativity Program in Community Service (PKM-PM), have developed an innovative snack bar made from moringa leaves to support the government’s program to accelerate stunting reduction. The main ingredients are nuts such as edamame and peanuts.
These five students are Andika Jatra Pratama (Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing), Aurel Novalino, Zahra Faizah (Faculty of Engineering), Ghina Salwa (Faculty of Animal Science), and Daniel Phangkay (Faculty of Agricultural Technology).
The idea for creating moringa leaf-based snack bars originated from a student community service activity in Wonodri Village, South Semarang District, Semarang Regency, Central Java. In this village, moringa leaves are abundant but underutilized by the local community.
“Our team introduced the innovation of making snack bars from moringa leaves so that the community can maximize the potential of their resources to address the stunting problem,” said Andika Pratama in a statement to reporters on Friday (Aug. 23).
Pratama noted that moringa leaves can prevent stunting in babies, particularly for pregnant women, as they are rich in essential nutrients such as vitamins A and C, calcium, protein, and iron.
“Moringa leaves provide the necessary nutritional intake to support optimal fetal development and prevent anemia in pregnant women,” he added.
The students created food products such as brownies and dry snack bars. The ingredients needed include wheat flour, honey as a sweetener, moringa leaves, peanuts, and edamame as additional sources of nutrition to provide a crunchy texture.
Peanuts and edamame contain folic acid and iron, which support fetal development and can help prevent newborn stunting.
The production of these snack bars targets training for PKK (Family Welfare Empowerment) women on processing moringa leaves. The PKK women in Wonodri Village received training on making moringa leaf-based snack bars, and they hope to share this knowledge.
“By partnering with PKK women as the main collaborators, we hope that the PKM-PM Elsibarkelor program can be a concrete step for the community in reducing stunting in their area,” said Pratama.
In addition to creating stunting-prevention food from moringa leaves, residents were also trained to use the Elsimil application to operate it independently. This training aims to optimize the Elsimil application launched by the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN).
The application has three main features: screening for prospective brides and grooms, potential childbearing couples, pregnant women, postpartum mothers, and families with children aged 0-59 months; various educational resources on reproductive health and pregnancy care; and consultation with BKKBN experts.
“There has been guidance from the beginning because criteria must be met before marriage. It has been coordinated with the Ministry of Religious Affairs, so anyone wanting to get married must complete the screening from the Elsimil application. They must obtain a certificate before applying for marriage at the KUA (Office of Religious Affairs),” explained Novalino.
This program is expected to reduce the stunting rate in Wonodri Village, encourage creativity in utilizing moringa leaves, and help support the government’s zero stunting program by maximizing the use of the Elsimil application.
Author: Rahma Khoirunnisa
Editor: Gusti Grehenson