Government promises to deal with dengue fever
Government promises to deal with dengue fever
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government has claimed it has prepared measures to keep
dengue fever under control within the next three months, although
the number of people infected and killed has been on the rise
since the outbreak was detected in January.
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla said on
Monday the government was focusing on action to curb infection
and casualty rates by providing free medical services and
encouraging people's participation in killing the Aedes aegypti
mosquito.
"Our target in the next three months is to bring down the
number of dengue fever sufferers to below 35,000, with a casualty
rate of 1 percent," Kalla said after leading a coordination
meeting at his office.
Three months into the outbreak, the disease has affected
19,150 people in 25 provinces and killed 338 of them. Jakarta has
been the hardest hit area with 6,387 cases, and 65 dead.
Kalla said the government would ask regional governments to
encourage residents to participate in the nationwide dengue fever
eradication program at least once a week by cleaning bathtubs and
water tanks and burying unused containers.
The government will also intensify fumigation and provide
powder to kill the mosquito larvae.
The government will appoint 10,000 jumantik (field workers),
who will be dispatched to 10,000 villages across the country to
disseminate information on dengue fever and make door-to-door
checks on whether residents have taken precautionary measures.
"The involvement of jumantik will speed up the eradication
program as they will eliminate the Aedes aegypti larvae so that
they cannot spread the disease," Minister of Health Achmad Sujudi
said.
Sujudi added the ministry had disbursed one-third of its Rp
150 billion (US$17.85 million) emergency fund to help the
nationwide fight against dengue fever.
He added that West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, Central
Java, East Java and Bali had each received Rp 500 million in the
form of cash and medical equipment.
Kalla dismissed reports that the government had turned a blind
eye to dengue fever sufferers, saying free medical services had
already been given to poor patients in third-class wards.
Sujudi also clarified the government's policy on free medical
services for dengue fever patients in response to confusion among
the public.
"State hospitals will provide free medical services for poor
patients, while those treated in private hospitals will have free
medication," Sujudi said.
He said the free services would be provided for anyone who
could produce a health card or letter from their respective
subdistrict chief confirming they were poor.
Earlier in the day, President Megawati Soekarnoputri and her
husband, Taufik Kiemas, made a brief visit to dengue patients
being treated at Persahabatan Hospital, East Jakarta.
During the visit, the President took time to speak with
patients and their relatives, advising them to clean their homes
to prevent the further spread of the disease.
Earlier on Saturday Vice President Hamzah Haz visited Budi
Asih Hospital in Central Jakarta for the same purpose.
Persahabatan Hospital was donated by the then Soviet Union
government and was inaugurated by Megawati's father, founding
president Sukarno, in 1963.