Health Ministry Urged to Expand Child Mental Health Screening and Early Bullying Detection in Schools
Jakarta — A member of Commission IX of the House of Representatives from the Golkar faction, Heru Tjahjono, has urged the Ministry of Health to expand mental health screening for children and adolescents, and to promote early detection of bullying and psychological pressure in schools.
“The Health Ministry must expand mental health screening to children and adolescents, and encourage early detection of bullying and psychological pressure in schools,” said Heru in a press statement on Monday (16 March 2026).
Heru also proposed the need to strengthen early detection of mental health, improve counselling services at health centres and schools, and provide education on positive parenting in order to reduce cases of child suicide.
“The main strategy includes strengthening support from families and schools, building supportive relationships with trusted adults, eliminating stigma, and creating safe and inclusive environments,” he said.
Heru then urged health centres, as the nearest community health facility, to play an important and strategic role. He proposed that health centres and schools increase their counselling staff.
Furthermore, said Heru, the government must also establish mental health crisis hotlines and increase the number of clinical psychologists at health centres and schools to address the needs of children from low-income families.
“This strategy aims to reduce the number of cases by improving the child protection system and accelerating access to social assistance,” added Heru.
According to Heru, based on data released by Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin, there have been at least four cases of child suicide in 2026 alone, including one elementary school child from East Nusa Tenggara who ended his life because he could not afford to buy books and pens.
Meanwhile, data from the Indonesian Child Protection Commission shows that child suicide cases consistently exceed 20 per year. In 2023, there were 46 cases; 43 cases in 2024; and 26 cases in 2025.
According to Heru, this data means that Indonesia has the highest rate of child suicides in Southeast Asia.