A two-day seminar and workshop entitled ‘Some Fats are Good: Prevention of Stunting and Chronic Non-communicable Diseases’ was held on January 16 and 17, 2012 in Jakarta, Indonesia. This two-day event – supported by the Ministry of Health, Persagi, Pergizi Pangan, GAIN, WFP, HKI, Unilever and IUNS – featured prominent national and international speakers and lively discussions on the way forward to improve the dietary intake of these essential nutrients. Indonesian speakers at this event were Dr Minarto, Prof Dr Hardinsyah, Dr Damayanti Syarief, Dr Ekowati Rahajang, and ms Elviyanti Martini, MSc. International speakers were Dr Regina Moench-Pfanner (GAIN), Dr Damayanti Soekarjo (Savica), Dr Ibrahim Elmadfa (IUNS), Dr Martin W Bloem and Dr Saskia de Pee (both WFP).
Approximately 70 participants representing universities, professional organizations, NGO’s, UN organizations, government and private sector met for this dissemination of scientific findings about the benefits of fat and essential fatty acids for health, growth and development of the child, as well their role in preventing non-communicable chronic disease. This was followed with a workshop to gather representatives from universities, government, WFP, HKI and the private sector, aimed to build consensus and set the research and program agendas with regards to mapping of fat and fatty acid consumption, essential fatty acid deficiency and efforts to overcome these problems in Indonesia.
During the workshop participants split into three groups focusing on three key areas needed to take the EFA discussion forward in Indonesia: 1) Scientific and food technology issues and research needs; 2) Policy, Regulation and Standards, and 3) Policy and program issues.
