Jakarta, 8 July 2020 - In the midst of a pandemic, more attention must be paid to meeting the daily nutritional needs of children. With declining family income and new challenges in accessing health facilities, children are not only vulnerable to infectious diseases, but also threatened with malnutrition which can cause stunting.
To support the prevention of stunting in the pandemic period, Danone Specialized Nutrition (SN) Indonesia explores research collaboration and innovation with LIPI in the 'Research Collaboration and Technology Discussion Forum to Support Child Nutrition in the Pandemic Period' Wednesday July 8, 2020. This meeting is a follow-up to the collaboration production of 5,000 Probarz products and 4,000 Aitamie products produced and distributed to support the nutrition of children affected by a pandemic.
Prof. Bambang Permadi Soemantri Brodjonegoro, SE, MUP, Ph.D., Minister of Research and Technology / Head of the National Research and Innovation Agency who attended the discussion forum, emphasized that stunting is a priority issue in national development because it can become an estuary of existing development problems especially if it involves the quality of human resources (HR). "The problem of human resources is not just a matter of education. Without good basic health since childhood, a child will not be able to go to school and perform well in education. Research and innovation such as food processing technology is very important and must be able to encourage food that is easily accessible to the community, "added Bambang.
"We welcome the collaboration that has been going on with Danone Specialized Nutrition Indonesia. For a long time, we have also been committed to supporting the handling of stunting based on product development while providing a positive economic impact for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the community. Probarz and Aitamie, one of them, were developed to match the tastes of children with adequate nutritional content, "said Dr. Laksana Tri Handoko, Head of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).
Danone SN Indonesia also pays attention to the nutritional status and health of children in Indonesia and also supports the government's efforts in using research and technology to prevent and overcome stunting.
Connie Ang, CEO of Danone SN Indonesia said "We are very pleased to be one of the government partners in stunting prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. Our commitment to research and technology can be seen from the construction of the Danone Nutricia Research Sarihusada R&I Center at the Sarihusada Factory in Yogyakarta, the Nutriplanet study, to the recent collaboration with LIPI. We are ready to discuss further collaborative research and technology for the future with LIPI and related government agencies. "
In this discussion forum, the Minister of Research and Technology and LIPI also emphasized the importance of triple helix cooperation between the government, academics or researchers, and industry including the private sector to carry out joint programs that can bring positive impacts to the community. One of them is product development based on research and technology from upstream to downstream.
