Government Records 663,000 Schoolchildren with High Blood Pressure

Head of the Government Communication Agency (Bakom), M. Qodari, stated that 663,000 Indonesian children are experiencing elevated high blood pressure. This data comes from the Ministry of Health for the period from 1 January to 3 May 2026, with 4.8 million children having undergone screening in the Free Health Check (CKG) programme at 48,000 schools. “As many as 22.1 percent, or 663,000 children, are experiencing elevated blood pressure,” Qodari said during a press conference titled ‘Update on CKG Schools PHTC, TB Handling, and Education Transformation’ at the Bakom Office in Jakarta on Wednesday (6/5). In addition, Qodari reported that 41 percent, or 1.1 million children, have dental cavities, while 239,000 children have earwax buildup. He explained that these three conditions are the most significant diseases found in school-aged children. Qodari noted that the discovery of these three diseases is also a tangible impact of the CKG programme. He stated that the CKG programme enables early detection and handling of diseases. “Before they affect the learning process and growth and development,” he said. At the same time, Qodari reported that by May 2026, 100 million Indonesian residents have participated in the CKG programme. He mentioned that throughout 2025, the programme served more than 70 million participants, and in the early 2026 period up to early May, it added more than 30 million people. The implementation of this programme is carried out at more than 10,000 community health centres spread across 514 districts/cities throughout Indonesia. Qodari stated that this number is still around one-third of Indonesia’s total population, which approaches 290 million people. Therefore, he said the government will continue the programme to expand the reach of health examination services for the community.