South Kalimantan BKKBN Holds Public Lecture, Invites Students to Distribute Information in Society
Banjarmasin – The Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) of Lambung Mangkurat University (ULM) in collaboration with the BKKBN (National Family Planning Coordinating Agency) of South Kalimantan Province held a Public Lecture “The Role of Higher Education in Preventing Child Marriage and Accelerating the Reduction of Stunting”. This event was held Monday (24/7/2023) at the Lecture Theater of FISIP ULM Banjarmasin in commemoration of the 30th National Family Day (HARGANAS).
ULM Vice Rector IV for Planning, Collaboration, and Public Relations Dr. Ir. Yusuf Azis, M.Sc., was present at this event representing ULM Rector  Prof. Dr. Ahmad, S.E., M.Sc. FISIP ULM Lecturer, Dr. Taufik Arbain, S.Sos., M.Sc was present as the moderator, representatives of study programs were also present on this agenda.
This activity invited FISIP ULM students to listen and discuss the material to be delivered. The speakers presented were Ir. Siti Fathonah, MPH., as BKKBN Primary Expert Family Planning Extension.
Head of South Kalimantan BKKBN Representative Ir. H. Ramlan, MA., said that ULM was chosen as the place to hold a public lecture as an effort to disseminate information related to preventing child marriage and accelerating the reduction of stunting.
“Higher education as a provider of education and support for the community, we expect the role of higher education to be able to disseminate this information,” said Ramlan.
In the report submitted by the Head of BKKBN South Kalimantan Representative, he said that child or adolescent marriage can have an impact on nutritional instability during pregnancy.
“Human egg cells are only ready to be fertilized at the age of 20 or 21 years. If you marry when you are a teenager, the uterus and egg cells are still developing,” he explained.
These conditions can lead to delays in the distribution of nutrients to the fetus. This can then have an impact where the babies born will be vulnerable to indications of stunting. Stunting in children is something that must be prevented. This is because stunted children can experience obstacles to brain, mental and physical development.
“To create a smart generation, it is important to prevent stunting in children. In stunted children, besides having low brain power, their body growth is also stunted.” he said.
He also said that stunted children are also prone to disease, especially degradative diseases such as gout, cholesterol, blood sugar, hypertension, and others. To ensure that children are not indicated to be stunted, one of them is to pay attention to the golden age of children in the first 1000 days of life, namely from the womb to birth and 2 years old.
The factors that can cause stunting are divided into sensitive factors and specific factors. Sensitive factors include consumption of unclean water (river water), unclean sanitation, and inadequate housing. While specific factors or direct factors are nutritional factors.
Through this activity, Ramlan hopes that the students who come will be able to disseminate correct information to the public about the importance of maturing the age of marriage and the importance of preventing stunting in children.
