UMI and UNIMERZ Collaborate on Maternal and Child Health Education in Pucak Village
LPkM-UMI, Makassar – Indonesian Muslim University (UMI) Service Team collaborated with Megarezky University Service lecturers to carry out Assisted Village Empowerment (PDB) in the form of Maternal and Child Health education in one of the assisted villages, namely Pucak Village, Tompobulu District, Maros Regency, South Sulawesi, carried out for 4 days, starting 22-25 July 2023.
This activity is an effort to increase the capacity of the Health Cadre Group and the Bukit Kemuning Karang Taruna Group to make Pucak Village into a "Healthy Village, Maternal and Child Health Education Center Based on Virtual Technology System Integration and Verified Moringa Leaf Processed Products".
The Service Team from UMI who attended included, Dr. Yusriani, SKM., M.Kes, (Lecturer at the Faculty of Public Health), Dr. Ir. Ida Rosada, M.Si (Lecturer at the Faculty of Agriculture), Dr. Dr. H. Muh. KhidriAlwi, M.Kes (Lecturer at the Faculty of Public Health), and Dr. Rika Handayani, SKM., M.Kes (Lecturer at Megarezky University).
This activity was also attended by expert lecturers in the field of computer science, Ir. Syahrul Mubarak Abdullah, M.Kom, who collaborated with alumni and students from the Bachelor of Public Health Program, Master of Public Health students and Bachelor of Computer Science students at UMI.
The teams from these two universities formed a partnership with the Health Cadre Group chaired by Saharia and the Bukit Kemuning Karang Taruna Group chaired by Fathurrahm.
Dr. Yusriani, SKM., M. Kes, as head of the service team, said that this GDP activity received funding assistance from the Directorate of Research, Technology and Community Service, Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) in 2023.
The GDP activities, he said, had also been socialized to the government as well as the community of the Health Cadre Group and Karang Taruna Bukit Kemuning Group and received high enthusiasm from the people of DesaPucak.
It was recorded that 40 people from the community who were members of the Health Cadre Group and the Bukit Kemuning Youth Organization Group were present as participants.
"So this program is the first activity that we together hope can improve the welfare and health of the community in Pucak Village, especially in preventing and overcoming stunting cases," said Dr.Yusriani, SKM., M.Kes.
Furthermore, Dr. Yusriani, SKM., M. Kes said that on the first day of the activity, material was presented regarding the health profile and problems in Pucak Village. The material was delivered directly by the Head of the UMI Service Team who has experience as a facilitator and mentor for various service activities.
According to him, maternal and child health is still a major public health problem in Indonesia, especially in rural areas.
"Pucak Village is one of the villages supported by UMI in Tompobulu District, Maros Regency which has many problems in the fields of Maternal and Child Education and Health. This program (KIA), especially the provision of health education in Pucak Village, has not been running well so stunting cases have increased," he explained.
He continued, that Pucak Village also has the potential for Human Resources (HR) such as Sehetan Cadres and Karang Taruna, and Natural Resources (SDA), which are produced from Moringa plants, which are very abundant and grow abundantly in people's home gardens.
"A positive response was received from the Coordinator of the Health Cadre Group and the Bukit Kemuning Youth Organization Group, hoping that there will be continuity in the next activities," said Dr. Yusriani, SKM., M.Kes
He also hopes that this GDP will encourage partners' ability to be actively involved in sharpening the direction of village development planning policies which are focused on realizing "Healthy and Prosperous Villages".
PKM Team member, namely Dr. Dr. H. Muh. Khidri Alwi, M.Kes discussed Stunting Prevention and Management through Lecture, Discussion and Practice Methods.
Through this activity, it is also hoped that the knowledge, attitudes and skills of the Health Cadre Group and the Bukit Kemuning DesaPucak Youth Organization Group can be further improved. MeanwhileDr. Ir. Ida Rosada, M.Si discussed the benefits of Moringa leaves with the hope that partners' understanding of the use of Moringa leaves will increase.
In GDP activities, the practice of processing Moringa leaves into panada stuffed with Moringa leaves is carried out. Moringa leaf processed products are an innovation that can prevent stunting, because Moringa leaves contain high levels of nutrients. Apart from that, processed Moringa leaf products can also create business opportunities from these products.
This practice is expected to complement the capacity of the local community in taking steps to prevent stunting by using Moringa leaves which grow widely around the local community.
Babies and children during their growth period are recommended by the World Health Organization or WHO to consume Moringa leaves. The gram ratio of Moringa leaves contains: 7 x vitamin C in oranges, 4 x calcium in milk, 4 x vitamin A in carrots, 2x the protein in milk, 3x the potassium in bananas.
The National Institute of Health (NIH) on March 21 2008 said that the Moringa tree "has been used as medicine by various indigenous ethnic groups to prevent or treat more than 300 types of diseases".
Ancient Indian Ayurvedic medicine traditions show that 300 types of diseases can be treated with Moringa Oleifera leaves. Moringa is a plant that can grow quickly, has a long life, flowers all year round, and can withstand extreme hot conditions. Research into the benefits of plants, from leaves, stem bark, fruit to seeds, began in the early 1980s.
Apart from that, Dr. Rika Handayani (Unimerz Lecturer) presented material on assessing nutritional status through lecture methods, discussions, and practice on measuring and assessing nutritional status.
Meanwhile Ir. Syahrul Mubarak Abdullah, M.Kom presented material on the use of VR (Virtual Reality) in carrying out the maternal and child health education process.
Abdul Razak as Head of Pucak Village explained that this GDP Program was highly anticipated by the local community, because it was the first time it had been held in his village.
"This is very important and is being implemented for the first time in our village, so that it can increase the community's capacity to live healthily and process Moringa leaves to prevent stunting," he said.
"Hopefully with this activity the health status of mothers and children, especially in Pucak Village, will improve," said one of the GDP participants," he continued.
In this GDP activity, the service team also handed over virtual reality technology tools as well as tools and materials for processing Moringa leaves and also tools for measuring and assessing the nutritional status of children under five.
