Power Relations in Stunting Recovery Practices in Makassar City

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-680-2_11How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Stunting; Power; Knowledge; Health

Abstract

Indonesia is experiencing a malnutrition crisis characterized by a triple burden, namely undernutrition, excess nutrition, and micronutrient deficiencies. The phenomenon of triple burden nutrition in the part of nutritional deficiencies is then called the stunting phenomenon. Stunting is a condition of failure to thrive in toddlers due to chronic malnutrition, repeated infections, and inadequate psychosocial stimulation. In Indonesia, the prevalence of stunting is still a significant health problem. Based on data from the 2018 Basic Health Research (Riskesdas), the national prevalence of stunting reached 30.8%, which means that almost one in three children in Indonesia experience stunting. Nationally, there is a graph of a decline in stunting in Indonesia. Stunting has decreased from 24.4% to 21.6% by 2022. This shows that stunting is an urgent problem that needs to be addressed seriously by all related parties. This study aims to analyze power relations in stunting recovery practices in Makassar City. This research method uses a qualitative case study approach to explore power relations in recovery practices at Makassar City Health Centers. The results of the study indicate a clear hierarchy of power in which the government and health workers dominate decision-making regarding stunting interventions. Although Posyandu cadres act as a liaison between the community and health workers, they are often in a subordinate position with limited authority to adapt interventions to local conditions. The community, especially affected families, tend to be passive and feel uninvolved in the decision-making process, even though they are the ones who understand the child's condition most directly. This study concludes that this asymmetrical power relationship affects the effectiveness of the stunting recovery program, where low community participation and the limited role of posyandu cadres hinder the adaptation of interventions that are more appropriate to local needs. Therefore, a more participatory and inclusive approach, as well as community empowerment, are needed to increase the success of the stunting recovery program in Makassar City.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Download article (PDF)

TY  - CONF
AU  - Leni Gustiawati
AU  - Muh. Ilham Dhani Asriawan
AU  - Suparman Abdullah
AU  - Rahmat Muhammad
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/04/26
TI  - Power Relations in Stunting Recovery Practices in Makassar City
BT  - Proceedings of the Asia Pacific Sociological Association Conference  (APSA 2024)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 129
EP  - 141
SN  - 2667-128X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-680-2_11
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-680-2_11
ID  - Gustiawati2025
ER  -