Health Minister: West Java Has the Highest Maternal and Child Mortality Rate

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has revealed that West Java is now recorded as the province with the highest rate of maternal and child mortality in Indonesia.

Every year, Budi said, Indonesia records 30,000 infant deaths and 4,000 maternal deaths. That figure is among the highest in ASEAN.

“Our position in ASEAN is among the worst. When we looked at West Java, West Java has among the highest figures, and it occurs in fully accredited hospitals,” Budi said during a meeting with the House of Representatives’ Commission IX on Monday (14/9).

He said there are three cities and three regencies with the highest maternal and child mortality rates in West Java. However, Budi did not disclose the exact figures or the names of the regencies and cities in question.

Generally, Budi continued, the mothers and children die whilst under hospital care. Yet these hospitals hold Paripurna (full) accreditation status.

“There is one regency, and we looked at why patients are dying in its hospital? Because of many infections. So the way they manage hospital hygiene is not good,” Budi said.

Budi said he is giving serious attention to the matter. His office has given the hospitals in question one year to sort themselves out and improve their quality.

“So all the hospitals with high maternal and infant mortality rates, we have already listed them and we will provide assistance,” he said.

“But we will introduce indicators like those mentioned. For instance, indicators on antimicrobial resistance — there are indicators for that. We will measure things precisely in that way, and this can indeed be changed,” Budi added.