inp.polri.go.id - Jakarta. Secretary General of the Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri) Tomsi Tohir expressed his support for collaboration between city governments to accelerate regional progress. This collaboration is considered important so that cities throughout Indonesia can progress together.

"What the Chairman said earlier is that we have to be together, side by side, no city is left behind, no city is at the forefront. And I agree with that," said Tomsi when closing the 7th National Conference of the Association of Indonesian City Governments (APEKSI) in Surabaya City, East Java (Jatim), Friday.

Efforts to accelerate regional progress can be done through innovation. Therefore, he hopes that the regions that are part of APEKSI can continue to innovate so that later it can be followed by other members.

He also gave examples of several excellent city governments that could be emulated by other regions. For example, the Gorontalo City Government's innovation in handling stunting.

The efforts made were to distribute one boiled egg to malnourished children and pregnant women by involving Karang Taruna. This program is considered successful in reducing stunting rates. "Little capital, (but) stunting is quickly reduced," he said.

On the other hand, Tomsi also revealed a number of central government programs that need to be supported by the regions, such as the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program.

He appealed to the regional government to build MBG kitchens by prioritizing locations that are pockets of poverty. This step is considered to help poor children meet their food needs.

(ad/inp/pr/nm)