Health officers sent to needy village

TANGERANG (JP): The city administration of Tangerang plans to deploy 36 health officers in the city's least developed villages, an official said yesterday.

Tangerang Mayor Djakaria Machmud said that the presence of the officers is expected to help local residents deal with their health problems.

"In preparation for the deployment, the 36 officers took part in a two-day training course ended yesterday," Machmud said.

The 36 officers consist of medical workers and heads of a number of public health centers (Puskesmas), heads of local health offices, representatives of the local offices of the National Family Planning Board (BKKBN) and heads of local welfare affairs offices.

Machmud reiterated that the deployment of the officers is part of Tangerang mayoralty's programs to expand its health services through the active involvement of local residents.

The training was designed to enable the officers to develop health centers in the least developed villages, including through the establishment of health posts to help local people get easier access to medical services, he said.

Similar activities, the mayor said, have so far been conducted in a number of other villages, including Cikokol market, in the form of a medical hall for nearby traders.

Most local traders who were visited by The Jakarta Post yesterday were happy with the establishment of their medical facility.

"We are no longer forced to travel far away to look for hospitals whenever one of us needs medical services," Djamhuri, one of the traders, said.

After the establishment of the medical hall, the traders still are in need of quick service at reasonable prices. "You know how it is for small-scale traders like us," said Mulyadi, another vegetable seller, who claimed to have worked at the market over the last few years. (hhr)