Indonesia has made significant progress in overcoming stunting. According to the Indonesian Ministry of Health, the stunting rate dropped from 37.2% in 2013 to 30.8% in 2018. However, reducing the stunting rate, which has lifelong effects on physical and mental development, remains a national priority, with a target of below 20% in 2024.

Tanoto Foundation, an independent family philanthropy organisation founded by Sukanto Tanoto and Tinah Bingei Tanoto in 1981, actively supports the government’s efforts to prevent stunting through our Early Childhood Education and Development program. To further this agenda, Tanoto Foundation in September 2019 became a founding member of the World Bank’s Multi Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) for Indonesia Human Capital Acceleration (IHCA) initiative with a commitment of USD 2 million. The trust fund is also supported by the Gates Foundation.

At the inaugural meeting of the MDTF IHCA Steering Committee, the Global CEO of Tanoto Foundation, Satrijo Tanudjojo, emphasized the Tanoto Foundation’s commitment to supporting the development of the Indonesian people.

“MDTF for IHCA is in line with our mission in harnessing the transformative power of education to realize people’s full potential and to improve lives. It fits in very well in supporting TF programs that expand from the very early age of human development to the growth of young leaders, bridging their way into productive adulthoods,”

Satrijo Tanudjojo – CEO Global Tanoto Foundation

“Tanoto Foundation’s various initiatives are to contribute to the Indonesian government in accelerating the prevention of stunting, improving the quality of education, and addressing regional inequalities in human resources,” said Satrijo.

Satrijo also underlined the challenges being faced in efforts to prevent stunting during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to him, the pandemic is not only a challenge for the future of children, but also for the progress made by the Indonesian government.

“According to the SMERU Research Institute report, the poverty rate that has been successfully reduced to a single digit, which is 9%, is expected to rise to double digits, 11-13% or even more. This certainly has an impact on stunting prevention programs, as well as the development and education of early childhood and education in general,” he added.

For that reason, with all the impacts caused by the current pandemic, according to Satrijo, we must not lose our focus in achieving our goals. Precisely this situation makes us have to try harder to accelerate the increase in human resources, including in the fight against stunting.

Tanoto Foundation, an independent family philanthropy organisation founded by Sukanto Tanoto and Tinah Bingei Tanoto in 1981, grants Rp. 2.8 billion to UNICEF for the measurement and monitoring of young children’s physical, social, emotional and cognitive development in Indonesia.

Jakarta, 4 March 2020: The Government of Indonesia is committed to early childhood development and to achieve  Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.2, namely:‘By 2030, all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education’.

In their support of efforts to achieve this goal, the Tanoto Foundation has granted Rp. 2.8 billion to UNICEF to adapt a global  tool, specifically for the needs of Indonesian children, to measure and monitor young children’s physical, social, emotional and cognitive development. As an independent philanthropy organization focusing on education,the  Tanoto Foundation believes that this initiative will complement the government’s efforts in providing data on early childhood development to monitor the achievement of the SDGs.

With this grant, UNICEF will develop the adapted version of Early Childhood Development Instrument (ECDI) and Caregiver Reported Early Development Index (CREDI) measurement instruments for Indonesia.  These tools will provide population-based data on the development status of children aged 0-3 and 3-5 years. UNICEF will test and validate the results of the adapted version which can then be utilized by the country’s Central Statistical Bureau (BPS) for the 2020 National Economic and Social Survey (SUSENAS).

“Intervention on young children is the key to develop Indonesian human resources and it has become one of our focus areas. Measurement and monitoring are important as we work with evidence-based principle. I am looking forward to the partnership with UNICEF to develop this measurement method that can then become a contribution to the nation,”

J Satrijo Tanudjojo, Global CEO of the Tanoto Foundation.

Echoing these sentiments, Debora Comini, UNICEF Indonesia Representative notes that

Debora Comini, UNICEF Indonesia Representative

“Investing in children to help them reach their full potential is critical, but to give every child the best start in life, we need to have the right data. That is why the Tanoto Foundation and UNICEF are joining forces to develop this important tool that will help us measure and monitor early childhood development in Indonesia. Partnerships like this are essential as we work together to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.”

Tanoto Foundation, an independent family philanthropy organisation founded by Sukanto Tanoto and Tinah Bingei Tanoto in 1981, and Wahana Visi Indonesia officially launched the “Go Baby Go” program on December 14, 2019.

“Go Baby Go” is a pilot project to create a model for nurturing while optimising children’s growth. It focuses on children aged 0 to 3 years old – especially children from families identified to be vulnerable – and ensuring that they receive a strong foundation in their early lives which will be useful in their later lives.

It takes into account that children’s early development is primarily manifested through a family’s ability and style of nurturing, which should protect and support the children’s health, nutrition, holistic development and learning.

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“Go Baby Go” is being carried out in eight Posyandu (Child Integrated Health Post) in the sub-district of Simokerto and Kenjeran in Surabaya, East Java. The project aims to reach at least 320 children aged 0 to 3 years.

Among those present at the program launch were J Satrijo Tanudjojo, Global CEO of Tanoto Foundation, and Doseba T Sinay, National Director of Wahana Visi Indonesia.

Tanoto Foundation’s collaboration with Wahana Visi Indonesia falls under the Foundation’s SIGAP Program, which contributes to the prevention of stunting in children in Indonesia, as well as the development of quality early childhood education to help them become school-ready in the future.

“Go Baby Go is a testament of Tanoto Foundation’s continuous support to early childhood education and development in Indonesia. We hope Indonesian children can enjoy optimal growth so they will be ready to attend their next phase of education,” Satrijo said.

“It is in line with Tanoto Foundation’s mission in which we believe that quality education accelerates equal opportunity creation,” he added.

Meanwhile, Doseba said: “We expect this pilot project to produce a best practice guide which will be replicable throughout Indonesia. We appreciate Tanoto Foundation’s attention towards the advancement of Indonesian children’s health. This level of attention makes us optimistic that we can continue to work on improving Indonesian children’s overall wellbeing.”