SEAMEO
CECCEP conducted a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) to develop the Holistic Integrated Early Childhood Development (HI-ECD) Policy Brief:
"Access to Health Services, Welfare, Protection, and Care." This FGD
event was held from Sunday, June 23 to Tuesday, June 25, 2024, at Hotel deJava,
Bandung. The purpose of this event was to gather input from each stakeholder in
every HI-ECD service (Education, Health, Nutrition, Care, Protection, and
Welfare) for the development process of the HI-ECD policy brief.
The FGD was
attended by several participants, including Mr. Nugroho, Policy Analyst Junior
Expert Assistant Deputy for Fulfillment of Children's Rights and Protection at
the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Cultural Affairs or (KEMENKO
PMK), Ms. Yani Sinulingga, Coordinator of HI-ECD from the Directorate of Early
Childhood Education, Mrs. Amaranti, First Expert Planner at the Ministry of
Women's Empowerment and Child Protection or (KPPPA) PUHA, Mrs. Ai Rahmayanti,
Commissioner for Parenting and Alternative Family, Indonesian Child Protection
Commission (KPAI), Mrs. Felly Lastiawati, Head of the Family Quality
Improvement Division, Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Agency (DP3A)
Bandung, and other notable figures.
The
Director of SEAMEO CECCEP, Prof. Vina Adriany, PhD then delivered her warm
welcome and thanked the speakers for their presence. In this FGD, four
presentations were given by experts. The first presentation was delivered by
Dr. dr. Brian Sriprahastuti on Access for Integrated Models and the Workforce.
Dr. Brian emphasized that cross-stakeholder collaboration was essential.
Effective cooperation between the community, government, and private
sector/philanthropy was crucial. She also highlighted that human resource
investment starting from pregnancy was fundamental for producing excellent
human resources. To save 4.8 million children from stunting, the president
initiated the National Stunting Prevention Movement and encouraged ministries
and agencies to converge efforts to accelerate stunting prevention through
activities such as providing balanced nutritious food, parenting support, and
promoting handwashing with soap and proper sanitation.
The second
presentation on father involvement in parenting was delivered by Idzma
Mahayattika, an advocate for Ayah ASI. In his presentation, he stated that
support from fathers could take the form of knowledge support, positive
attitude support, practical support, emotional support, and involvement in
decision-making. Knowledge support could include participation in childbirth
preparation classes, breastfeeding and complementary feeding or MP-ASI, consultations with experts,
attending workshops or seminars, and talking to other experienced parents.
In
practice, father involvement in parenting was still minimal due to several
obstacles. One obstacle was policy barriers where there was a lack of
flexibility in working hours at companies. Additionally, paternity leave was
still limited to only 2-3 days in many places, and many child-rearing programs
focused on mothers.
Several
solutions were offered for the obstacles faced by fathers. These included
providing paternity leave policies, flexibility in coming to the office to care
for children and wives, providing safe and comfortable learning spaces for men,
and trusting fathers to be involved while respecting their methods.
The third
presentation by Ir. Yosi Diani Tresna from Ministry of National Development
Planning/National Development Planning Agency of the Republic of Indonesia,
discussing Best Practices and Challenges Regarding Access to Care, Protection,
and Welfare Services. She talked about quality families, gender equality, and
inclusive communities. According to her, fulfilling the rights and protection
of children, women, youth, persons with disabilities, and the elderly through
strengthening care and resilience, and protection against violence.
The last
presentation was delivered by Mrs. Hani Yulindrasari, Ph.D on Critical
Studies on Children's Rights. According to her, there were two approaches to
children's rights: Protectionism and Liberalism. Protectionism viewed children
as individuals who were not yet autonomous and could not decide what was best
for themselves. Meanwhile, in Liberalism, children held rights and participated
in decision-making.
After the
presentation sessions, participants were divided into several groups to discuss
and draft policy briefs on the presented topics. The results of these
discussions were then presented the next day on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, by
group representatives. The event was then closed by the Director of SEAMEO
CECCEP.