Iqbal Highlights Plight of NTB Posyandu Volunteers, Receiving Only Rp 100,000 and Paying for Batteries Personally
The Governor of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), Lalu Muhamad Iqbal, has highlighted the plight of Posyandu (integrated healthcare centre) volunteers who continue to face limited incentives and working facilities. Some volunteers even have to use their personal funds to purchase operational necessities, such as batteries for digital scales.
These grievances were expressed by volunteers during Iqbal’s visit to the Sesaot Posyandum in Narmada District, West Lombok, on Tuesday (1/9/2026). Iqbal reported meeting a volunteer who has dedicated 43 years to serving public health.
“I met someone today who has been a volunteer for 43 years to maintain community health. In the past, they were not even paid. Recently, they have received a monthly income of around Rp 150,000, while others receive only Rp 100,000,” Iqbal stated after meeting the volunteers in Sesaot Village.
According to Iqbal, the dedication of these Posyandu volunteers is a clear reflection of the Indonesian people’s spirit of volunteerism in maintaining vital basic services. He emphasised that this spirit must be accompanied by efforts to increase incentives and facilities.
Currently, Posyandu incentives are largely sourced from Village Funds (DD) and Village Fund Allocations (ADD). However, the fiscal capacity of village governments remains a significant challenge in improving the welfare of these volunteers.
“We have 40,000 volunteers across NTB, and their incentives come from the Village Fund at approximately Rp 150,000. However, due to the decline in village fiscal capacity, many are experiencing a reduction in income. This is our challenge,” Iqbal explained.
He dismissed the notion that regulations or Provincial Governor Regulations (Pergub) are the primary obstacles to providing incentives through NTB Provincial Government funding schemes.
“The issue is that village fiscal capacity is currently declining because DD and ADD are decreasing. The villages themselves are already complaining about these cuts to the Village Fund,” he added.
Furthermore, Iqbal explained that the structure of the Village Fund provided by the central government is already earmarked for various specific purposes. Consequently, the room for manoeuvre for villages to assist with volunteer incentives is very limited.
“Because when the Village Fund is allocated to the village, much of it is already earmarked—for Posyandu, for this, for that. The earmarking consumes the budget, leaving nothing left for village development,” he said.
Buying Scale Batteries with Personal Funds
Budget constraints are also directly felt by Posyandu volunteers in their daily activities. Iqbal expressed concern after learning that volunteers in Sesaot Village must purchase batteries for operational equipment using their own money.
“They even have to buy batteries from their own pockets. Since everything is now digital, such as digital scales, they have to buy the batteries themselves,” Iqbal said with concern.
Responding to these complaints, the NTB Provincial Government is designing concrete steps to support the increasing workload of Posyandu amidst regional fiscal constraints.
“Coincidentally, the ‘Bunda Posyandu’ (Posyandu Mother/Patron) has initiated the creation of an application for Posyandu. This will allow us to have accurate data on how many Posyandu kits are broken, which ones are missing, or what other needs need to be covered,” he noted.
In addition to equipment, the Governor requested that the Bunda Posyandu send an official letter to the Governor of NTB to mobilise relevant Regional Government Agencies (OPD) for the Posyandu strengthening programme in villages.
“We will push the relevant OPDs to be involved in efforts to strengthen Posyandu, particularly in capacity building, necessary training, and the equipment required for their work,” he explained.
Iqbal emphasised that the long-term solution to assist the economic welfare of volunteers and strengthen Posyandu capacity will be integrated directly into the province’s priority programme, the ‘Empowered Village Programme’ (Program Desa Berdaya). He promised that through this programme, efforts will be made to help volunteers secure additional income to offset the decline in village fiscal capacity.
“Starting in 2027, the Transformative Empowered Village programme must include at least one Posyandu volunteer. Hopefully, this income can also assist others,” Iqbal expressed hope.
Iqbal concluded that strengthening these efforts is urgent, given that the scope of Posyandu volunteers’ duties has expanded beyond maternal and child health to include Minimum Service Standards (SPM) across various sectors.
“This means there are increasing expectations placed on Posyandu, which means they need capacity building. Therefore, we are trying to integrate this into provincial programmes amidst these fiscal constraints,” he concluded.