Most people assume malnutrition is about not having enough food — but in eastern Indonesia, some of the most affected families aren’t short on cash at all. In this episode, Dr. Riri unpacks what’s actually driving Indonesia’s stunting crisis, and what it takes to fix a systems problem rather than a food problem.
Dr. Rindang “Riri” Asmara-Petersen, M.D., MPH, is CEO of 1000 Days Fund, an organization she joined as a volunteer in 2021 after working in private hospitals — the team has since grown from 8 people to 56. Under her leadership, 1000 Days Fund now works across 7 districts and 106 villages in eastern Indonesia, has trained 60,000 community health workers, and recently received a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation award as the only Indonesian grantee that round, selected from over 4,000 global applicants.
