While Indonesia still lags behind 29 other countries on a worldwide hunger list, the United Nations has announced it will award the country for its efforts in reducing malnutrition.
Jose Graziano da Silva, director general of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, said on Sunday that Indonesia has achieved its Millennium Development Goal on reducing hunger and malnutrition by half, years before the 2015 deadline.
The National Statistics Bureau (BPS) reported that in 1989, 31 percent of Indonesian children aged under five were underweight – a key indicator in determining prevalence of hunger. The bureau reported that in 2010 the figure had declined to 17.9 percent.
The FAO awarded Indonesia and 34 other countries for their achievements in food-related issues. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to receive the award on June 16.
"From our observation, we concluded these countries have managed to combine their agriculture with social protection programs, therefore they could accelerate the achievement of the targets. We hope these countries can be a role model for another countries in term of food security issues," he said.
Coordinating Minister of People's Welfare Agung Laksono, who met with da Silva earlier on Sunday, said Indonesia has been reducing its dependence on other countries for food imports since 1985.
"We have to admit there are still have many problems on the grassroots level, but this award should be appreciated. This is something we should be proud of because there are only 35 countries in the world have been awarded," he said.
However, Agung said that malnutrition in Indonesia remained a serious problem. In 1990, he said, 8.5 percent of Indonesian children aged under the age of five were undernourished. In 2012, the figure declined to 5 percent.
Indonesia ranked 30th on the 2012 Global Hunger Index, which determines hunger rates using three measurements: the proportion of undernourished people as a percentage of population, the proportion of children who are underweight and child mortality figures. Indonesia was behind China, which ranked 2nd, Thailand (18th) and Vietnam (26th), but ahead of the Philippines (31st), Cambodia (56th) and Laos (57th).
Last month, Papuan activists claimed at least 95 people died of hunger in Tambrauw district since last November, with hundreds more still at risk. Agung has denied the claim, saying there were only 15 deaths cumulatively since November due to various diseases and lack of access to health facilities.