Truth or dare

Truth or dare

Given the risk it poses to human life and the relative ease
with which it spreads, it is not surprising that many people are
worried about the dengue fever epidemic in various places in
Indonesia, and specifically in Jakarta. But the Jakarta city
administration's policy of not revealing the true number of
dengue fever victims on the grounds that it might scare off
tourists is shockingly cynical.

As reported in the press, Jakarta's Deputy Governor for Social
Welfare, R.S. Museno, justified the policy, which seems to have
been cooked up in the city administration's public relations
office, by saying that "publication of the figures could have a
negative effect on the tourism sector." Citing the time when
inaccurate newspaper reports in Japan about a supposed cholera
outbreak in Bali caused Japanese tourists to stay away from Bali
in droves, Museno said the Jakarta city administration's policy
was right because the reports "could reduce the number of
tourists, especially foreign ones, to Jakarta."

What precisely is the situation regarding dengue fever in
Jakarta? To cite some official figures: Up to the middle of this
month 3,024 cases and 43 deaths from dengue fever were recorded.
Thomas Suroso, an official at the Ministry of Health cautions
that the figures may rise until at least the end of this month
since June and July are the months in which the greatest number
of cases occur.

We are aware that sensationalistic reporting could indeed
cause a setback in the tourist business. In this respect there is
nothing wrong with Museno's reference to the Bali incident of a
few years back. However, there are at least a couple of points
that must be considered. First of all, the Bali reports were
inaccurate. What happened in Bali a few years ago was not a
cholera epidemic, but an outbreak of a kind of diarrhea known
locally as muntaber, which is characterized, among other things,
by vomiting and diarrhea but is much less serious than cholera.
More importantly, we believe that it is the right of the public
-- tourists included -- to be informed of whatever might affect
their well-being while visiting a certain place.

To quote another official, the chairman of the Indonesian
Medical Association, Dr. Azrul Azwar, suppressing information on
dengue fever will limit the public's awareness of the disease and
how to prevent it. According to Azrul, active public
participation in preventing the disease by the public is crucial
because much of the necessary action -- such as observing
hygiene, drying out pools of stagnant water, wiping out mosquito
eggs and scrubbing bathroom walls -- must be taken at home. "If
the press reports are written with the intention of arousing
public action, we need not fear widespread panic," he said.

The key to this dilemma as we see it is not to withhold
information from the public, since that will keep people in the
dark about real health conditions in their environment and
prevents them from taking the necessary action to protect
themselves and their families. We need to give the public what it
has a right to -- accurate information and guidance.