New approach must be adopted for healthier largest cities
JAKARTA (JP): Experts say a huge budget is not always necessary to overcome health problems in large cities. They say maximizing the potential of local resources could lead to healthier cities.
The empowerment of local resources is instrumental in solving community health problems, as well as improving the local's economic condition, said Dr. Alex Papilaya of the University of Indonesia at the opening of the Jakarta Initiative seminar and workshop on Problem Solving for Better Health (PSBH) on Thursday.
PSBH emphasizes problem solving, networking and plans of action. The program has paid benefits in large cities in a number of countries, including Ghana, Poland and Bulgaria.
A new approach is needed to city projects, including encouraging and including locals in the development of their cities, Papilaya said.
The director of the Center for Family Welfare at the university underlined the need for cooperation between the private sector and the government in dealing with health problems. By doing so, he said, effective and low budget solutions to health problems could be realized.
Jakarta is struggling with a multitude of urban problems, including poor sanitation, lack of a clean water supply, poor waste treatment, high maternal and infant mortality rates, drug abuse and a lack of awareness of a healthier concept in developing the city.
The United States-based Dreyfus Health Foundation, together with the University of Indonesia and the Jakarta administration, is launching a health-improvement and self-help project in East Jakarta's Duren Sawit district. The foundation said the approach to be used in the project had been successfully implemented in 23 countries.
The district was selected because of its sociometric similarity with five cities where the project will eventually be launched. These five cities are Bandarlampung, Balikpapan, Cianjur, Pekalongan and Malang.
Minister of Health F.A. Moeloek said at the opening of the workshop locals should take a greater initiative in establishing a healthy environment and nurturing healthy habits, which in turn would positively impact education and help generate income.
Dr. William Sawyer of the Dreyfus Health Foundation complimented the success of the government's health program known as Posyandu, or the rural integrated health service. The program reaches remote areas throughout the country.
"I used to invite my foreign guests to visit Posyandu. It is a good program because it is well received by locals," he said.
The leader of Aspirations for a Healthy City Forum for Duren Sawit district, Imam Soedjono, told The Jakarta Post he welcomed the concept of a healthy city and the empowerment of local resources to solve community problems.
"However, such an idea is difficult to implement because each city has its own unique characteristics and problems which need as unique an approach to deal with," he said.
Another speaker at the seminar, Barry Smith, the director of the Dreyfus Health Foundation, said the key concepts of PSBH were innovation, simplicity, clearness, process of action, role models and respect for human dignity.
Prior to the Duren Sawit project, the Dreyfus Foundation under the Jakarta Initiative worked on more than 190 projects throughout Indonesia. More than 90 of the projects have been completed.
Meanwhile, an environmentalist who works in the Jakarta administration underlined the need for an ecologically sustainable concept in city development.
He said Indonesia's reliance on oil resources had polluted its large cities and made Jakarta the second-most polluted city in the world after Bangkok, inflicting serious respiratory problems among its citizens, particularly schoolchildren. (06)