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)