Day: October 7, 2022

At least 4,000 community health centers (puskesmas) in Indonesia have been equipped with congenital hypothyroidism screening (SHK) facilities for early detection of thyroid hormone deficiency in newborns, a Health Ministry official informed on Friday.

“The 2021 data showed that as many as four thousand puskesmas have carried out SHK services and two thousand puskesmas officers have received training,” acting head of child and maternal nutrition and health at the ministry, Ni Made Diah, said at a press conference on the “Transformation of Primary Services to Reduce Infant Mortality Rates” in Jakarta.

Children born with congenital hypothyroidism disorders must be detected early and if they test positive, they must immediately be provided treatment so that they can grow and develop according to their genetic potential, she explained.

Early detection and correct treatment of congenital hypothyroidism could prevent children from experiencing irreversible growth and cognitive delays, Diah added.

“Currently, 1,500 out of 4.4 million newborns in Indonesia are estimated to be born with congenital hypothyroidism, which refers to a global prevalence of 1: 3,000 births,” she informed.

Congenital hypothyroidism has an impact on a family’s financial situation because of the child’s condition, Diah said.

“The government must prepare special schools and teachers for those children. In fact, the demographic bonus will not be achieved (if the issue is not addressed),” she added.

Symptoms and signs of congenital hypothyroidism that can be observed after one month of birth include short body length, limpness, low activity level, yellow baby, large tongue, choking easily, hoarse voice, big belly button, and dilated crown.

“The target of SHK detection is newborns aged three to four days with a blood sample taken from the heel. Babies with medical conditions need to be screened, while normal babies should be screened for three days,” she said.

SHK facilities need to be provided across Indonesia, she added. The Health Ministry, through the Health Transformation Program, has continued to expand SHK services at the primary service level or puskesmas, whose number has reached 10,260 nationally.

“The implementation of SHK must be carried out throughout Indonesia because the process is very easy by taking a blood sample of a three-day-old baby dripped onto filter paper. This can be done in primary health (settings),” she informed.

Furthermore, the blood samples will be sent to the referral laboratories of Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Hasan Sadikin Hospital, Sarjito Hospital, or Dr. Soetomo Hospital.

“The treatment of positive patients will require drugs that are covered by the Health Social Security Insurance (BPJS Kesehatan),” Diah added.

 

Source: Antara News

The Jakarta Health Office has sought permission for exercising the option of transferring COVID-19 vaccines from other regions to anticipate declining stocks in several health facilities.

“We also continue to request them since Jakarta has a high absorption,” head of disease prevention and handling (P2P) at the Jakarta Health Office, Dwi Oktavia, said here on Friday.

According to Oktavia, the transfer of vaccines from one region to another is convenient on account of the monitoring system.

If there are COVID-19 vaccines that are approaching their expiration period, then the Health Ministry and regional governments can transfer them from regions with low absorption.

Despite this, to this day, there have not been any regions that have transferred their COVID-19 vaccines to Jakarta.

To handle the declining COVID-19 vaccine stocks, the office has continued to organize vaccinations, but they are being adjusted based on stock availability and the vaccination locations have been reduced.

In the past, when the COVID-19 vaccine stock was still plentiful, one sub-district could open vaccination centers in 10–20 public spaces, including in sub-district and village public health centers (puskesmas), parks, and shopping centers.

Despite this, over the past several days, the vaccination coverage for the third dose or booster vaccine in Jakarta has remained quite high, reaching 1,800–2,000 people per day.

Meanwhile, the first dose vaccination coverage for residents in the capital city as of Thursday stood at 12,682,585, or 135 percent of the 10.8 million target.

Further, the second dose coverage reached 10,802,368, or 115 percent of the target, and the third dose coverage was pegged at 5,064,192, or 68.48 percent of the target.

According to the Health Ministry’s data on COVID-19 vaccine stocks, which was accessed on Friday morning, vaccine availability in Jakarta is currently estimated at 58,086 doses.

The average vaccination last week reached 4,739 vaccinations, and the COVID-19 vaccine stock is estimated to last 12 days.

 

Source: Antara News

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on people’s mental health due to the loss of relatives, jobs, and outdoor social activities, mental health director at the Health Ministry, Vensya Sitohang has said.

“Several studies have shown an increase in depression and anxiety cases throughout the pandemic,” she noted during a webinar held to commemorate World Mental Health Day on Friday.

“In fact, one in three people who suffer from COVID-19 also suffer from psychological distress,” she added.

The pandemic has caused its own stress due to isolation, including for health workers, frontline workers, and people with chronic diseases.

According to the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) research in 2017, depression that leads to suicide often occurs among teenagers aged 10 to 19 years who have anxiety, behavioral problems, and abuse drugs, she highlighted.

Moreover, the research stated that suicide most frequently occurs globally among 20 years old in middle- and low-income countries, she said.

In 2015, the Health Ministry conducted a survey that showed that the desire to commit suicide among middle and high school teenagers was 4.3 percent among males and 5.9 percent among females.

Teenagers aged 10 to 19 years undergo various changes, physical, emotional, and social. This includes exposure to poverty, harassment, or violence that can make them vulnerable to mental health issues.

Teenagers may encounter problems in relation to school lessons, relationship with parents, issues with close friends or lovers, and sibling rivalry, she explained.

Teenagers with mental health problems and mental disorders are very vulnerable to exclusion, social discrimination, stigmatization, educational troubles, risky behaviors, and human rights violations, Sitohang informed.

On the commemoration of World Mental Health Day, the ministry said it expects everyone with mental disorders to receive quality treatment and improve their awareness about the importance of mental health.

“Everyone deserves quality mental health services, and it requires collective efforts from various parties and various programs to prevent and handle mental health problems,” she remarked.

As the nation’s successors, teenagers are expected to have a healthy mind and be ready to confront global challenges to develop Indonesia and become capable of competing on the international stage, she added.

 

Source: Antara News