Jakarta, December 5, 2024 – Data from the Indonesian Health Survey in 2023 explained that the prevalence of stunting in Indonesia was 21.5%, only 0.1% lower than in 2022, and adolescent women (15-24 years old) had a prevalence of anemia of 15.5%. The initial point for stunting prevention can start from adolescence, as adolescents will grow and give birth to a healthy, superior, and well-characterized advanced generation. In line with the government’s focus, Danone Indonesia presents the GESID or Generasi Sehat Indonesia program which targets adolescents and integrates various elements as a step to prevent anemia and stunting in an effort to achieve the idea of the Indonesian Golden Generation 2045.

As a form of appreciation to all GESID ambassadors who have committed to making nutrition education media and disseminating it to peers, the 2024 National Gathering was held on 23/11. The agenda of the event included various activities such as social media competitions, speaker competitions, and the “GESID Ambassador Action” competition, which aims to spark the enthusiasm of the ambassadors to educate peers or disseminate information about health.

Catur Budi Santosa, S.E., M.Ak. – Partnership Lead at PDM.11 Healthy School Movement, Directorate General of Early Childhood and Primary & Secondary Education, Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education of the Republic of Indonesia, appreciates Danone Indonesia’s initiative and support in government programs, especially in preventing anemia and stunting problems. “One of the efforts that must be considered to improve the quality of education in Indonesia is the health status of students. For this reason, since 2022, the Healthy School Campaign (Kampanye Sekolah Sehat) was presented, which developed into the Healthy School Movement (Gerakan Sekolah Sehat), and Danone Indonesia became one of the first 7 partners to support the initiative. There are five focuses of the Healthy School Movement, namely Healthy Nutrition, Healthy Physics, Healthy Immunization, Healthy Mental, and Healthy Environment. Through GESID activities, we hope that the ambassadors’ commitment to educate their peers or peer-to-peer education will be stronger. We also hope that the ambassadors can support the Healthy School program in each region and inspire schools and other partners to contribute more, especially in overcoming the problems of anemia and stunting,” said Catur.

Nopian Andusti, S.E., M.T. – Deputy for Family Welfare and Family Empowerment of National Family Planning Coordination Board, believes the problem of stunting will affect the quality of human resources and preventing it requires collaboration between parties, stating that “Stunting affects the quality of human resources, where it affects cognitive abilities and can also cause various non-communicable diseases. Meanwhile, the adolescent period is one of the most critical periods in human development, and its health status will have an impact on the next phase of life, including after marriage, pregnancy, and childbirth. Therefore, accelerating the reduction of stunting constitutes one of the development priorities. Thus, we need to continue to collaborate to overcome this problem, including by increasing awareness and understanding of adolescents, our children, about the importance of fulfilling balanced nutrition. Currently, there are 4 provinces assisted by the GESID program, which are included in the 12 priority provinces for stunting prevention developed by National Family Planning Coordination Board or Badan Koordinasi Keluarga Berencana Nasional (BKKBN), “explained Nopian.

Anemia has an impact on both physical and mental health. Dr. dr. Ray Wagiu Basrowi, MKK, FRSPH, Medical and Science Director of Danone Indonesia, explained, “Based on observations and research that have been done, in addition to being a state of lack of blood, anemia has an impact on the life cycle, including that of adolescents. Anemia can reduce immunity, which makes it people vulnerable to infections. This condition also has an impact on physical ability and decreases performance, which triggers mental health problems. Lack of iron is one of the factors that cause iron deficiency anemia, and it should be kept in mind that the happy hormone or dopamine can be produced if there is enough iron. If the dopamine is not produced, anxiety, drowsiness, irritability, or emotional instability might occur,” Ray explained.

GESID is a nutrition and health education as well as character-building program centered on empowering adolescents as peer educators in schools. This program was initiated by Danone Indonesia in collaboration with the Faculty of Human Ecology or Fakultas Ekologi Manusia (FEMA) of IPB and has received support from BKKBN of the Republic of Indonesia, which involves junior and senior high school-age adolescents in >10 provinces and >20 districts/cities in Indonesia. Rizki Pohan, Health & Nutrition Senior Manager of Danone Indonesia, explained, “Danone Indonesia is committed to bringing health to as many people as possible through its products. This applies globally, including in Indonesia. In line with the government’s focus on overcoming the problem of stunting, which is closely related to anemia, we have a Danone Impact Journey that consists of 3 pillars, namely Health, Environment, and People & Community, and the GESID program is included in the Health category. We hope that GESID can contribute to the prevention of anemia and stunting problems since adolescence, and Ambassadors are prepared to become future leaders in 2045.”

From 2021 to 2024, the GESID program successfully targeted 613 junior and senior high schools, 6,133 GESID ambassadors, more than 70,000 students, as well as reached digital and social media amplification of ≥ 3 million. These achievements can be attained with the cooperation and support from schools, partners, the government, and other policymakers. It is expected that the GESID program can run sustainably so that we can jointly realize healthy, superior, and well-characterized Indonesian adolescents who will become the next generation of the nation and the main milestone in giving birth to an advanced, healthy, superior, and well-characterized generation. It is hoped that the annual nationwide grand meeting of GESID ambassadors can be a forum for spreading inspiration and bonding between ambassadors so that their enthusiasm continues to burn in carrying the torch of struggle in providing nutrition and health education.