UNVEILING THE HIDDEN REALITY BEHIND THE STUNTING BUDGET

Abstract

This study unveils the phenomenon of the stunting budget in Gorontalo Province by comparing two districts with different dynamics: Boalemo Regency (the lowest stunting prevalence) and Pohuwato Regency (the highest stunting prevalence), to capture actors' experiences across the input, process, and output stages of policy. Using Husserl's transcendental phenomenological approach, this qualitative study uncovers the meaning of stakeholders' subjective experiences in managing the stunting budget. Primary data were collected through in-depth interviews and observation with informants selected through purposive and snowball sampling, comprising local government elements (the regional government, the regional legislature, and the regional planning agency), the health office, community health centre staff, and beneficiary communities, supported by secondary data such as stunting statistics and regulations. The findings show that the stunting budget functions as an arena of public governance, so that policy success cannot be measured merely by document completeness and budget absorption, but is determined by the system's capacity to translate allocations into well-targeted, socially impactful services. Boalemo Regency faces dominant challenges related to limited field human resources and the risk of efficiency driven reallocation, while Pohuwato Regency faces dominant challenges related to structural fiscal constraints, its wide geographic area, governance change, and the need for consistent data and precisely targeted assistance. This study recommends strengthening substantive accountability through context-based allocation formulas, binding cross-sector convergence, and oversight that tests the accuracy of benefits rather than mere document compliance.