RI to face new health problems: WHO

JAKARTA (JP): Today's children will not only face the threat of infectious disease they will also have to deal with the growing incidence of non-communicable disease, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said yesterday.

WHO representative to Indonesia, Robert J. Kim-Farley, told the fourth International Conference on Health Promotion that Indonesia was due to face more non-communicable diseases because of urbanization, changes in lifestyles, eating habits and increased tobacco use.

The five-day conference, emphasizing partnerships between the government, the private sector and non-governmental organizations, will end Friday. The conference will issue The Jakarta Declaration on health promotion for the future when it concludes.

Infectious diseases like measles and polio have been greatly reduced in Indonesia while non-communicable diseases like heart disease, cancer and stroke were increasing in prevalence with longer lives, he said.

President Soeharto opened the conference. He hailed Indonesia's progress in health promotion including increasing life expectancies from 46 in 1967 to 65 almost 30 years later.

Soeharto said the fruits of development had brought improved incomes of US$ 1,000 today from $70 about 25 years ago, lowered infant mortality rates to 50 deaths for 100,000 births in 1996 from 145 deaths for 100,000 births in 1967.

Maternal mortality rates had been greatly reduced from 450 deaths for 100,000 deaths in 1985 to 390 deaths for 100,000 births in 1990, he said.

He said that improved human resources would be the main priority for the Second 25-Year Development Plan.

Kim-Farley said that Indonesia was the first developing country to host the conference because of its health promotion programs, including National Immunization Week held twice yearly for 20 million children nationwide over the last two years.

He hailed the de-worming and Clean Friday programs for children, who are given medication against worms and information on hygiene to prevent infection.

He said the Ministry of Health was undertaking research through its National Institute of Health to seek the primary causes of non-communicable diseases. Another program, the Monika monitoring program for cardiovascular diseases had been going on for 10 years.

He cited the efforts of the offices of the State Minister of Sports and Youth, State Minister of Women's Roles and the National Family Planning Board to promote reproductive health programs such as the Safe Motherhood program. (01)