Environmental Sanitation and Stunting (Study of the Role of Women in Stunting Intervention)

Stunting is the major malnutrional problem in Indonesia. The prevalence of stunting toddlers in Indonesia is 30.8% in 2018, equivalent to around 7 million Indonesian toddlers. This condition is a threat to the quality of Indonesia's Human Resources (HR) in the future because stunted children have weak cognitive abilities and are vulnerable to disease so that they are at risk of low productivity in the future. Various attempts have been made by the government to reduce the prevalence of stunting, but the achievements generated are still far from the target. This study aims to review and analyze other dimensions of stunting alleviation interventions that have been the focus of the government, namely; the role, access, and control of women to the occurrence of stunting, a dimension that does not receive much attention because the issue of stunting has so far been more related to the dimensions of health, nutrition, and nutritional adequacy. The research method uses a qualitative approach with a gender perspective to see the role of men and (in this context specifically) women related to stunting. The analytical model used is the Moser method of gender analysis conducted at the grassroots / micro-level (household and community). The results showed that the role of women in a productive, reproductive, and social manner was very strategic and decisive towards the occurrence of stunting. However, to be able to carry out these roles to the maximum, strong access and control is needed for women. Support from policy, economic, social, cultural, and law are factors that are needed by women, both as mothers and expectant mothers to be able to carry out their roles optimally and fully. Thus, affirmative policies are needed that can support women's access and control so that the stunting rate can be reduced.