Palembang, April 2, 2026 — The Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Sriwijaya (FKM UNSRI), held a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and Dissemination of Community Service related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the theme “Empowering Mothers of Toddlers as Monitors of Child Growth and Development through the Child Growth and Development (TKA) Education Pocketbook Media.” This initiative is fully part of the Universitas Sriwijaya EQUITY Program for the 2026 Fiscal Year, funded by the Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Kemdiktisaintek), executed under Contract Number: 0031.2/UN9.R/SB3.SU/2026, signed on February 2, 2026. This financial support reflects the university's commitment to achieving SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 4 (Quality Education) through impactful community service.

The event took place at the Graduate School Building, Universitas Sriwijaya, and was chaired by Prof. Dr. Misnaniarti, S.K.M., M.K.M., as a strategic effort to disseminate best practices from the previous community service program in Tanjung Seteko Village, Ogan Ilir, which was successfully led by Dr. Rini Mutahar, S.KM., M.KM., in November 2025. Results from that program showed that the TKA Education Pocketbook effectively increased health literacy among mothers of toddlers, as evidenced by a significant rise in their average knowledge scores.

The FGD session was specifically designed to gather in-depth feedback from stakeholders to refine the educational media, focusing on evaluating the content to ensure it is practical and easily understood in the field. Furthermore, the discussion addressed model validation to allow this empowerment approach to be adopted as a local policy in community health services and aimed to strengthen long-term sustainability and collaboration among all parties involved.

The event was opened by the Vice Dean of FKM UNSRI, Dr. Novrikasari, S.KM., M.Kes., and attended by representatives from the Health Offices of Palembang City, Banyuasin Regency, and Ogan Ilir Regency, alongside participants from Community Health Centers (Puskesmas) and Posyandu cadres. This forum was further strengthened by international participation from the Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), including Dr. (PhD) Mohd Harimi Abd Rahman and two students, Nurul Hidayah Md Fadzil and Soonia AP Guna Segar, who provided global perspectives on community health empowerment.

Expert presentations were delivered by Dr. Ir. Lilik Kustiyah, M.Si from IPB University regarding early detection by health cadres, Dr. Wahyu Pudji Nugraheni, SKM, M.Kes from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) on effective media innovation, and dr. Lisa Marniyati, M.KM from the South Sumatra Provincial Health Office regarding the current nutritional situation and stunting challenges. Through the EQUITY Program, FKM UNSRI remains committed to supporting SDG targets and strengthening international collaboration networks.