Health workers set for campaign

JAKARTA: Some 50,000 members of health task forces from the Ministry of Health, military, police and the Indonesian Red Cross are ready to provide care to participants of the election campaign that kicks off on Thursday.

"The members of the health task forces have been trained to provide emergency health care to victims of traffic accidents and food poisoning during the campaign," health minister Achmad Sujudi said on Wednesday.

Speaking after chairing a meeting of the task forces here, Sujudi said they were ready to prevent unnecessary deaths during the campaign.

The task forces will set up command posts close to campaign venues beginning on Thursday, Sujudi said. Each post will be manned by a medical team and an ambulance.

"We will give first aid to save lives. We do not want to see people die because they did not get treatment soon enough," he said. -- Antara