Health education for women key to a healthy society

Health education for women key to a healthy society

JAKARTA (JP): Women remain the main health providers in many
countries. Their role begins at home, where illness usually
begins. Outside the home, they are well recognized as doctors,
nurses, midwives, other health workers and volunteers.

Unfortunately, the most vulnerable group to poor health are
children and women who are also, needless to say, the poorest.

Data from the United Nation Children's Fund (Unicef) reveal
the grim facts. In Indonesia, almost one of every three children
is moderately or severely underweight and about half of under-
fives suffer from vitamin and nutritional deficiencies.

Annually, about 170,000 children die directly or indirectly
due to malnutrition. More than 20,000 women die in childbirth and
215,000 infants die before reaching their first birthday every
year.

Based on this fact, the Women's International Club (WIC), in
cooperation with local women's organizations, has launched a
campaign to promote health care education for women in urban
slums and rural areas.

WIC's chairwoman Maria Waworunto said during the
organization's 14th conference at the Jakarta Hilton Hotel
recently that the campaign would begin by educating women
volunteers working for Posyandu, the integrated community-based
health posts established in villages across the country. It is
here that young children are weighed to monitor their growth and
basic preventive services provided.

The critical health services give the opportunity for health
and nutrition education for the community.

"Posyandu's primary function is in monitoring the health of
babies, children and women in our neighborhoods," she said.

Posyandu was previously organized by local doctors and
midwives with the help of women volunteers from the Family
Welfare Program (PKK) organization.

"During the New Order period, PKK was always associated with
the ruling Golkar Party. Now, in the reform era when Golkar is no
longer in power, women are reluctant to join PKK," Maria
explained.

The consequent halt in health services in many villages has
affected the health condition of millions of babies, toddlers and
women.

"PKK actually has nothing to do with Golkar activities. They
are important grassroots movements to empower women in order to
improve their living condition," explained women's activist Mien
Sudarpo.

In a time of crisis, the health condition of Indonesia's 23
million children and millions of women is seriously threatened.

"We need to revitalize Posyandu to help these vulnerable
groups in our society," Maria said.

Attempts to activate Posyandu have been carried out by the
Ministry of Health in cooperation with Unicef.

Senior program coordinator of Unicef Indonesia Khin-Sandi Lwin
said one of Unicef's strategies to improve the health condition
of women and children and to prevent malnutrition was to
revitalize the nationwide network of an estimated 1 million
health posts.

Over the past two years, Unicef has raised US$13 million for
the Posyandu Revitalization Program which currently operates in
81 districts and benefits about 370,000 children.

"We need more funds and participation from the entire
community to reach out to more children and women, especially in
remote villages," Khin said.

Maria said many people were willing to help organize Posyandu
but they simply did not know where to go.

"WIC's members, many of them expatriate women, are very
willing to lend a hand," Maria said.

Former minister of health Sujudi said in addition to the
revitalization of Posyandu, a lot could be done to maintain the
quality of health of Indonesians.

All of it depends on having enough basic knowledge on health
and healthy living, said Sujudi, a professor of health at the
University of Indonesia.

He said health education for the young and women was a key
factor in establishing healthy behavior that would influence
development and health in later years.

"Unhealthy diet, inadequate exercise, unsafe sexual activity
and smoking, all of which provoke disease in adulthood but have
their roots in their early formative years," Sujudi noted.

Health, nutrition and education are closely intertwined.
Child mortality, poor health and malnutrition are closely related
to the level of education of parents, particularly that of the
mothers, he said.

"The strong positive correlation between education and health
shows that women's education remains one of the greatest barriers
to improvements for women," he said.

Unicef's study says children who are underweight are three
times more likely to be those whose mothers have no formal
schooling (36 percent) than children of women who have secondary
education (13 percent).

Khin said that women can be taught basic knowledge and simple
health essentials, such as washing hands before eating and
cooking nutritious but inexpensive food.

Some equally simple things may seem unrelated but still affect
health and nutrition of the family. Khin said men may selfishly
or unthinkingly spend cash on cigarettes over eggs for their
children and wives.

"Families and communities are provided with practical
knowledge that will help them to make their best use of their
limited resources," she stressed.

The bottom line is that empowering communities, especially
women, with health information and education to promote their own
health and that of others will certainly lead to building a
healthier society. (raw)