Deputy Health Minister Wants Prison and Detention Centre Clinics to Provide Free Health Screenings

Deputy Health Minister Benjamin Paulus Octavianus has requested that clinics in correctional facilities and detention centres across Indonesia support the implementation of the Free Health Screening (CKG) programme for inmates and officers. The request was conveyed to Minister of Immigration and Corrections Agus Andrianto during a cataract surgery and CKG event at the Cipinang Correctional General Hospital in Jakarta on Monday. Benjamin noted that the corrections system has a network of clinics that can be utilised to conduct routine health examinations for inmates. He stated that the inmate population reaches approximately 278,000 people, so utilising prison and detention centre clinics can expand the reach of the CKG programme. Routine examinations, he added, can help detect risk factors for non-communicable diseases, such as hypertension and diabetes, at an early stage, allowing them to be managed before developing into more severe illnesses. According to him, degenerative diseases like stroke, heart disease, and diabetes can be prevented or controlled through regular health checks and follow-up on their risk factors. The Ministry of Health is continuing to expand the implementation of CKG as part of efforts to keep the public healthy and productive into old age. In response to the request, Minister of Immigration and Corrections Agus Andrianto stated his readiness to deploy correctional resources to support the government’s health programme.