Free Health Screening Finds 1.9 Million Indonesian Students Suffer from Hypertension

The government has revealed a number of health problems most commonly found among schoolchildren. The findings are based on free health checks (CKG) carried out between 1 January and 14 July 2026.

In the first seven months of 2026, school-based CKG screenings were conducted on 8,824,185 students across 96,567 schools. These schools are spread over 511 regencies and cities.

According to the Government Communication Agency (Bakom), dental caries or tooth decay was the most common complaint among students. “Around 40.8 per cent of students have caries or tooth decay,” said Kurnia Ramadhana, Deputy III of Bakom, in a statement on Friday, 24 July 2026. That figure equates to 3.6 million students.

In addition, other frequently found conditions were anaemia among adolescent girls and hypertension. Around 27.3 per cent (2.4 million) of adolescent girls have anaemia, while 21.7 per cent (1.91 million) of all students have elevated blood pressure or hypertension.

Other health problems include impacted earwax, found in 6.0 per cent (529,000) of students. “In addition, 6.7 per cent (591,000) of students were found to be obese,” said Kurnia.

The government plans to increase the number of free health check services in schools this year. “Overall, for 2026, the target for students participating in the School CKG programme is 50,255,073 students across 303,263 schools,” said Kurnia.

The School CKG programme was launched simultaneously on 4 August 2025. It is implemented in schools at primary, junior secondary and senior secondary levels, including special education schools (SLB) and Islamic boarding schools, targeting children aged 7 to 17.

The free health check is one of President Prabowo Subianto’s quick-win programmes. In addition to schools, the CKG is also carried out for the general public at health facilities.