Indonesia launches $247m free health screening to prevent early deaths
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People wait for medical check-ups during the start of the free medical check-up programme at a community health centre in Depok, West Java, on Feb 10.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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JAKARTA - Indonesia launched an annual free health screening on Feb 10, a 3 trillion rupiah (S$247 million) initiative to prevent early deaths that the country’s Health Ministry said was its biggest undertaking ever.
Under the programme, all Indonesians will eventually be entitled to a free screening on their birthdays, the ministry said.
The screening, which is not mandatory, includes blood pressure, tests to determine the risk of heart problems or stroke, and eye tests, the ministry said.
The programme is initially targeting under-sixes and adults aged 18 and over, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin told Reuters last week.
The leading causes of death in the world’s fourth most populous nation include stroke, heart disease and tuberculosis, data from the World Health Organisation shows.
Mr Budi said the 3 trillion rupiah allocation for the programme was about 1 trillion less than originally planned after President Prabowo Subianto ordered budget cuts to help fund election promises, including providing free meals for school children.
At a health centre in Jakarta on Feb 10, about 30 people showed up for the screening on the first day.
Teacher Ramika Dewi Saragih said she underwent checks on her breasts, cervix, eyes and more and was not apprehensive. “I was really looking forward to this,” the 33-year-old said, adding that more people should take the opportunity to be screened.
A Health Ministry spokesperson said the target for the checks this year was 100 million people.
Mr Budi said the programme was intended to promote preventive care as Indonesians tended to check for illnesses only when they already had them.
“Our culture is checking when we’re already sick... that cuts closest to the grave,” he said.
He said the programme was the biggest the ministry had ever undertaken, surpassing Covid-19 vaccinations.
Mr Budi added the screening, which is to be rolled out at more than 20,000 health centres and clinics, includes mental health tests to determine signs of depression or anxiety.
Researchers at the University of Indonesia’s Economic and Social Research Institute warned, however, that the programme could risk burdening the country’s already-strained local health centres, citing uneven distribution of drugs or doctors. REUTERS
