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March 14, 2025The Sincere Efforts of the Nutritionist at Mebung Health Center to Strengthen Stakeholder Synergy
Yasinta Alfolinda Manu, A.Md.Gz, is a nutritionist at Puskesmas Mebung who studied at the Makassar Academy of Nutrition Sciences or Akademi Ilmu Gizi (AIGI). Born in Kalabahi City, Alor, Yasinta has a bloodline in Nagekeo, East Nusa Tenggara. She has shown great sincerity and care for the future, especially for the children, particularly the toddlers, in the service area of Puskesmas Mebung, Alor North Central District.


Mrs. Yasinta Alfolinda Manu, A.Md.Gz, Nutrisionist of Mebung Public Health Centre
Even though she is married and has two children, Mrs. Sinta, as the parents commonly know her of toddlers at the Posyandu (Integrated Healthcare Center), is very concerned about the nutrition of toddlers. She chooses to accompany malnourished toddlers in villages within her work area, even if it means traveling by motorcycle through high and steep hilly areas. Five villages are the focus of her service, namely West Lembur, Central Lembur, and Likwatang, located along the coast, and Dapitau and Kafakbeka, situated in the hilly areas.
After 13 years of dedicating herself as a nutritionist and previously receiving the award of Model Nutritionist at the district level, she still encounters numerous cases of malnourished toddlers in her new service area. These issues include improper parenting behaviors, inadequate child-rearing practices, poor environmental hygiene, and the majority of families living below the poverty line.
Starting her service at Mebung Health Center in 2020, she encountered numerous cases of stunting and malnutrition among children, along with the challenges that came with them. However, this did not diminish her spirit to keep innovating and helping these children overcome stunting and malnutrition issues in Alor Regency. "Starting from parents who are indifferent parents and unwilling to commit to buying ingredients for making formulas, the distance to malnourished toddlers' homes that requires navigating damaged roads and climbing steep hills, the lack of cross-sectoral cooperation at the grassroots level, unsanitary home environments, to the poorly functioning 5 Table System in Posyandu, all make it difficult for me to innovate and monitor these malnourished toddlers," she explained.
Starting from perseverance, sincerity, innovation, collaboration, and maximizing the use of village resources and potential, it finally paid off. Through cross-sectoral collaboration, signs of positive change began to emerge in 2022 and 2023.
It began with socializing proper parenting styles and behavioral patterns among children, the nutritional needs of children, innovations in making supplementary feeding at Posyandu using local food sources, and improving the quality of services at Posyandu. These activities were carried out in collaboration with NGOs, village governments, Posyandu cadres, PKK (Family Welfare Empowerment), and the Community and Village Empowerment Service. The service improvements are through capacity-building activities for cadres, such as training in the use of anthropometric tools and the 5 Table System at Posyandu, training in designing supplementary feeding menus at Posyandu, and creating balanced nutrition menus for Posyandu cadres and PKK. Additionally, there were socialization efforts regarding feeding for children and toddlers, as well as training village midwives and parents on how to make Formula F-75, F-100 for malnourished toddlers, all of which were conducted in villages, Poskesdes (village health posts), Posyandu, and even in the homes of toddler parents, both during the day and at night. Achieving positive change requires significant effort, perseverance, and sincerity. Currently, they also have a dream of establishing a stunting and malnutrition halfway house.


Training on the use of anthropometric tools and their implementation at Posyandu in Likwatang, Dapitau and Kafakbeka Villages


Making Formula F-100 for the Management of Malnourished Toddlers by Nutritionist of Mebung Health Center for Village Midwives and Parents of Malnourished Toddlers
"From these results, did not discourage me to even complain about transportation costs or other supporting expenses, but I continue to be motivated to learn alongside the community in the village. Even with government and private institutions in the village, we work together to resolve cases of stunting and malnutrition in Alor Regency, particularly in Lembur Barat, Likwatang, Dapitau, and Kafakbeka villages," she said.
"My simple dream is that all Indonesian children must be healthy, no more mothers losing their children due to stunting and malnutrition. Let us open our hands and hearts, all stakeholders in the village and the regency, to save the toddlers who are the future of this nation," Mrs. Yasinta expressed with great enthusiasm.
(MexLilong)