Uim Nima Data House: Data-Driven for Effective Stunting Interventions

To accelerate stunting reduction, it is imperative to implement precise policies, which requires access to comprehensive, relevant, and precise data. Without this vital information, the effectiveness of policies aimed at accelerating stunting reduction would be severely compromised.

The Stunting Reduction Acceleration Team (TPPS) in one sub-district in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara province, has embraced this principle.

Uim Nima Data House management meeting.

The efforts of this TPPS have been assisted by the Partnership to Accelerate Stunting Reduction in Indonesia (PASTI), a partnership between the National Family Planning Coordinating Agency (BKKBN), USAID, Tanoto Foundation, PT Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara (AMMAN), PT Bank Central Asia Tbk and Bakti Barito Foundation. 

The PASTI partnership, which is implemented by WVI, is committed to helping accelerate the reduction of stunting and improve nutritional status in selected districts across four provinces in Indonesia — Banten, East Java, West Kalimantan and East Nusa Tenggara — by 2026.

Dian, one of the TPPS members, said that she and the other TPPS members were able to gain support from village policy makers to establish a Data House as a center for managing and utilizing population data. That data is used as a basis for determining intervention programs related to accelerating stunting reduction. "We received support from the village’s policy makers. They allocated an unused building to be used as a Data House," said Dian.

With support from various parties, in August 2023 the Data House in the village was officially established and named Uim Nima Data House. "Uim Nima" means "five houses" in the local language, and refers to the five tribal groups and clans that live in the sub-district.

Together with the PASTI team, the local TPPS designed the management structure, provided the necessary data formats and developed an operational plan for the Data House.

Dian (left), a TPPS member in one assisted village in Kupang district, NTT.

Yeri, the village head, said that the Data House will significantly enhance the formulation of policies and programs aimed at expediting stunting reduction. "The Data House allows programs to be prepared based on synchronized and validated data from a local source," he explained. Prior to the Data House, Yeri’s team had to request data and it’s a time-consuming process.

Yeri, head of one of the PASTI program-assisted villages in Kupang district, NTT.

Uim Nima Data House collects various data such as the number of children under five and their nutritional status, the number of pregnant women, the number of adolescents and brides-to-be, and other relevant data are continuously updated. Various data are collected by cadres and health workers during routine activities. After processing, the data is handed over to the Data House to be managed and visualized in a transparent and accountable manner. "With the mechanism we have built, we can process specific data by name and address," Yeri said.

As a leader dedicated to stunting prevention, Yeri acknowledges the pivotal role of the Data House. "Information from the Data House empowers us to discern priority issues, identify suitable interventions, assess the efficacy of implemented measures, and pinpoint areas for enhancement," he said.

Yeri at the Uim Nima Data House.

However, there are still many things that need to be done so that the Data House will function optimally. One of these is to expand the range of data types. Yeri wants the data house to cover more than just health and population data. "At the moment, we still need to coordinate with related agencies to update this," says Yeri. 

The issue of sustainability also looms. For this reason, Yeri is engaged in consultations with the other policymakers to formulate a decree cementing the role of the Data House in Teunbaun village. "We must ensure that this valuable initiative will continue, irrespective of leadership changes in this village," Yeri said.

Author: Aloysius Bram (Communications Specialist PASTI), Soraya Manu (MEL Coordinator PASTI)