Government prepares huge anti-polio campaign
JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Health will set up 275,000 posts throughout the country for a nation-wide anti-polio drive which will commence next Wednesday.
Minister of Health Sujudi told reporters here yesterday that the posts will be established in every neighborhood, public health center, hospital, bus station, kindergarten and other public place.
The country's 27 provincial administrations, together with the private sector and the general public, will work together to set up the posts, he said.
To support the program, which is addressed to children of maximum five years of age, the ministry has recruited 825,000 vaccination personnel and 90,000 supervisors, Sujudi said.
"Both the personnel and supervisors include activists of women's and social organizations, teachers and scouts," he said.
Their training finished last month and they are now ready to carry out the program, which will start next week, he added.
According to Sujudi, the ministry has developed a recording and reporting system for the observation and operation of the program.
"The system was tested on Aug. 31 and so far the result is satisfactory," he said.
The ambitious program to eradicate polio will be kicked off by President Soeharto from his residence in Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Sept. 13. The President is scheduled to insert the vaccine into a child's mouth. The same ceremony will be repeated at the residence of Vice President Try Sutrisno an hour later, Sujudi said.
The first phase of the program will last until Sept. 19. The second will take place from Oct. 18 until Oct. 24. The program will be repeated next year and in 1997, he added.
Sujudi said that the implementation of the program in Java, Bali and the capital cities of other provinces will take only a day or two.
"Bali has said that it will finish the program within a day," he said. The minister expects Yogyakarta to follow suit.
To support the program, Sujudi said, the government needs Rp 45 billion (US$20 million).
"Out of the figure Rp 23 billion comes from the central government and local administrations, Rp 6 billion is foreign aid and Rp 16 billion comes from the private sector," he said.
According to Sujudi the state-owned Bio Farma pharmaceutical company in Bandung produced 3.2 million vials of the polio vaccine last month to support the program.
The company has also provided buffer-stock for the program, he added.
Sujudi said he hoped that one or two days before the start of the program the vaccine will have arrived at the posts. "The Armed Forces has agreed to help us in providing transportation to reach isolated places."
About 21.7 million children will be immunized in the first phase of the program. It is free of charge, he said.
Sujudi denied reports that the Aceh provincial administration had collected money from the people for the program.
"The local office of the ministry of health has stated that the money will not be used for the anti-polio drive but for another health program conducted by PKK, the government-sponsored family welfare program."
"Next year we expect the budget will decrease to between Rp five and 10 billions," he said.
The great sum needed for this year's program is due to fact that the government has to provide equipment, such as vaccine carriers and ice packs, which are quite expensive, he said.
"We can use this equipment next year and this will help reduce the budget," he added.
He also expressed the hope that wealthy people will also bring their children to the anti-polio posts to be vaccinated.
Sujudi said that he is optimistic that the program will be successful and will be able to reach the target set by the World Health Organization.
The international agency has decided the world should be free of polio by the year 2000.
According to Sujudi, his ministry will conduct an anti-measles immunization program after the current drive. That will be followed by an anti-tetanus drive for pregnant mothers. (05)