Health centers struggle to gain trust of villagers
Health centers struggle to gain trust of villagers
JAKARTA (JP): Despite huge public investments in building and
developing community health centers (puskesmas) throughout the
country, these centers have not been fully taken advantage of by
the people, Minister of Health Sujudi said yesterday.
The statistics are meager to say the least. On average, an
Indonesian visits his local puskesmas only once a year.
"The figure is an average, but it is mainly the result of an
uneven distribution of health services, especially in villages
and among poor people," Sujudi said.
Less than 40 percent of poor people use health center
facilities, he added.
Socio-economic conditions, tradition and poor infrastructure
complicate the situation, he said after installing Nyoman Kumara
Rai as Director General for Community Health Supervision in place
of S.L. Leimena.
The main challenge for Kumara is the improvement of quality,
scope and distribution of the basic health services, especially
through the health centers, the minister said.
Sujudi said that often times, villagers have greater
confidence in traditional healers than in modern physicians and
medicine. "This calls for more community education and a vigorous
information campaign about the benefits of our puskesmas."
The small number of people visiting health centers could be a
sign that Indonesians are healthier, but that would be more
likely in the future, "when we are more advanced," Sujudi said.
"The main target of the program is 'health for all by the year
2000'...By this time people are expected to know that they must
lead a healthy life, they know when they are sick and they know
how to treat themselves or when to go to the puskesmas."
Sujudi also installed Dadi Sugandi Argadiredja as Head of the
Planning Office replacing Nyoman Kumara Rai, Suprijadi as Head of
the General Affairs, Bambang Hartono as Head of the
Organizational Bureau, Zurmiati Bahrunsyah as Finance Inspector
and Sampurno as Secretary of the Directorate General of Food and
Drug Control.
Other officials installed were Fawrita Djermina Irwani Pane as
Head of the Directorate of Narcotics and Hazardous Material
Control, Johnny Ria Hutapea as Head of the Directorate of
Traditional Medicine Control, Sutoto as Director of the Prof. Dr.
Saroso Hospital for Infectious Disease, Medias Almatsier as Vice
Director of the Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital's Training and
Education Center and Hermansyur Kartowisastro as the Cipto
Mangunkusumo Hospital's Director of Medical Services.
With respect to the epidemic of dengue fever hitting parts of
the country, Director General of the Elimination of Contagious
Diseases and Sanitation of Housing Environments Hadi M. Abednego
said that it would actually be simple to handle, but only with
the participation of entire neighborhoods.
"The Aedes aegypti mosquito reproduces and lives in exposed
surfaces of water in houses or in water holes which are seldom
cleaned. The mosquitos bite in the afternoon," he said.
The only way to rid the areas of the mosquito, he said, is to
clean out, block and close all the places which are their natural
habitats. (pwn)