To celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8th, 2023, the Deli Serdang district government and USAID IUWASH Tangguh organized a talk show with the theme ‘The Role of Women in Optimizing Safely Managed Drinking Water and Sanitation to Reduce Stunting’.
The event, which saw participation from around 100 people from different backgrounds, including gender champions, aimed to promote hygiene behavior change and strengthen the relationship with local stakeholders.
Deli Serdang still has a relatively high stunting rate (13.9%), according to the 2022 SSGI (Survei Status Gizi Indonesia/Indonesia’s Nutrition Status Survey) data. The situation is partly due to limited access to safely managed drinking water and sanitation. To lower the stunting rate, the collaboration of all actors is required, particularly women, as they play a crucial role in providing water and sanitation access at home and promoting hygiene behaviors. However, in most societies, women are not represented in the WASH decision-making process.
The talk show provided a platform for female sanitation volunteers and officials from the national government and academia to share their experiences and insights on the roles of women in improving water and sanitation access to reduce stunting.
The Deputy Regent (Wakil Bupati) of Deli Serdang, HM Ali Yusuf Siregar stated that the Deli Serdang District Government (Pemerintah Kabupaten) appreciated a number of stakeholders who had played a role and contributed to reducing stunting prevalence by uniting steps to promote the importance of safe drinking water and sanitation.
“I hope that women can be more active in creating and pursuing a better level of health, which is by seeking to increase access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Starting from the family environment, which is the smallest unit of social life. Women must be even more active in promoting and advocating related stakeholders in the framework of increasing access to safe drinking water and sanitation, which in the end can prevent stunting of Deli Serdang children. They are the next generation of the nation and who continue the regional development,” said the Deputy Regent.
Through this event, USAID IUWASH Tangguh highlighted the importance of integrating gender roles in providing safe drinking water and sanitation to improve health quality, particularly in preventing stunting. The program continues to collaborate with all stakeholders to use multiple channels, including town hall meetings, interpersonal and community group meetings, to expand access to safely managed drinking water and sanitation and sustainable water resource management for wider communities.
Available in 
