Stick and carrot for dengue effort

Stick and carrot for dengue effort

Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A long-term dengue fever eradication program should include
rewards and punishments to encourage local communities to keep
their environments free from possible mosquito breeding grounds,
an observer said.

The former chairman of the Indonesian Medical Association,
Kartono Mohamad, suggested on Tuesday the government provide
incentives to communities that were able to eliminate the larvae
of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which spreads dengue fever.

On the other hand, the government could impose fines on the
owners of houses where larvae was found, Kartono said.

"We can emulate Singapore, which fines homeowners S$500
(US$294) for failing to eliminate the larvae," he told The
Jakarta Post.

Kartono welcomed the Ministry of Health's long-term plan
announced last week to increase public awareness of dengue and
eventually eradicate the disease.

"However, we should question what their concrete measures are
for achieving these targets," he said.

The ministry's plan includes the recruitment of 70,000 nurses
to fight dengue fever, the treatment of patients and the
education of people on how to stop the spread of the diseases.

The project is expected to cost over Rp 1 trillion ($119
million), though their is still no schedule for its
implementation.

Kartono said the responsibility for eradicating dengue fever
rested with local administrations and communities, especially
local officials and community leaders.

"Communities will only be motivated (to fight dengue) when
there are leaders who can motivate them," he said.

World Health Organization representative for Indonesia Georg
Petersen also said local communities had to take the lead in
battling dengue fever.

He said the organization did not have a specific program to
fight dengue, adding that the Indonesian government had more
experience in dealing with the disease.

Meanwhile, in response to the current dengue outbreak, the
Ministry of Health has formed a team to assess conditions,
develop programs and coordinate their implementation with local
administrations.

Although the team is still waiting for a ministerial decree
outlining its tasks, it has already been at work for two weeks,
according to its executive director, I Nyoman Kandun, who is also
an expert staff member on health, the environment and
epidemiology at the health ministry.

"We will coordinate efforts, including cleaning possible
breeding grounds and treating the sick," he said, adding that the
available funds for the eradication of dengue fever this year
would be between Rp 30 billion and Rp 50 billion.

The government has committed to pay the hospital costs of poor
dengue patients treated in the third-class wards of hospitals. To
qualify, patients must acquire a letter from their neighborhood
unit head affirming their economic status, or present their
health cards to the hospital.

"So far, no hospitals have applied for reimbursement," said
Nyoman.

So far this year, 344 people have died from dengue fever and
19,904 have been infected. About 25 provinces have been hit by
the disease, with Jakarta having the largest number of patients
followed by West Java.

This Friday, the health ministry plans to hold a meeting with
the governors of Indonesia's 32 provinces to encourage them to
promote greater community participation in the battle against
dengue.