Cross-Sector Collaboration Needed to Tackle Children's Mental Health

Deputy Speaker of the Indonesian People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR RI) Lestari Moerdijat says there is a need for commitment and real action from all parties to realise better efforts in the prevention and handling of mental health issues among children and adolescents. She believes this requires serious attention.

“A real step is needed that comes from a strong joint commitment to build a mechanism for the prevention and handling of mental health for the generation to come,” Lestari Moerdijat said in a statement on Saturday (7 March 2026).

The Joint Decree (SKB) on Children’s Mental Health was signed by nine ministers at the Office of the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture (Kemenko PMK) on Thursday (5 March).

Attending the signing were the Ministers of Home Affairs, Religion, Education and Culture (Mendikdasmen), Health, Social Affairs, Communications and Digital, Population and Family Development, and Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection.

According to Lestari, the SKB signed by nine ministers should be able to foster a strong commitment from related parties to build an ecosystem that supports the mental development of children and adolescents towards a better direction.

She believes that the effectiveness of cooperation among the parties to build better mental health for the next generation must be realised soon, given the rising trend in adolescent suicide cases.

Indonesian Police data records suicide cases among the child age group (0-15 years) increasing more than twofold in two years, from 604 cases in 2022 to 1,498 cases in 2024.

In addition, the 2024 National Survey on the Experiences of Children and Adolescents (SNPHAR) recorded 62.19% of children with mental health problems also experienced violence in the last 12 months.

According to him, the effort to realise the strengthening of family function and positive parenting in the community, which is one of the objectives of the SKB on Mental Health, is not easy.

He hopes the efforts by the ministers will not be limited to signing the SKB, but that more than that, the decisions already taken must be realised with real steps.

“So that the sequence of violence and suicide cases among children can be suppressed and addressed soon, as part of efforts to birth a generation of the nation’s successors who are competitive in the future,” he concluded.