Day: March 2, 2023

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin urged all government hospital managers to maximize the use of Public Service Agency (BLU) funds for the development of service innovations for the community.”Most of the BLU funding was given to hospitals, health polytechnic education and research activities used for tool tests,” he noted during the 2023 BLU Coordination Meeting in Jakarta, Thursday. The Finance Ministry has disbursed large amount of funds, totaling around Rp15 trillion, in a year to meet the needs of government hospitals, he stated. “(Government) hospital should not seek for profits but (rather focus on) their ability to provide the best service for the community,” he emphasized. Sadikin stated that patient occupancy was one of the methods to measure health services in a government hospital. If more people prefer to seek treatment abroad, then it means that the service provided by the government hospital has not met the people’s expectations. “This measurement is difficult. It can involve one thousand kinds of matrices. However, my measurement is easy. We can check by the name of our ministers, who seek treatment in Indonesia, Singapore, or the United States, and even our president as well. If the answer is not in Indonesia, then it means our service is still not good,” he remarked. In order to improve service quality, it is necessary to increase innovation in the field of medical services through collaboration with universities, he stated. “If the collaboration does not bear result, how can we see progress in our hospital?” he questioned. He noted that several government hospitals in Indonesia were lacking services in handling bone marrow transplants for blood cancers, such as leukemia, multiple myeloma, or lymphoma. “Indonesia has not had this research. The number of hospitals in Malaysia with this ability can increase, from 100 to 300 in five years, followed by Vietnam, with 80 hospitals; Bangladesh, with 20; Myanmar, with eight; and only five in Indonesia,” he stated. The minister also criticized the approach of government hospitals that were only busy in handling financial transactions and building infrastructure without consideration for the development of disease management services for the community. “Their BLU score is bad,” he stated. In addition, Sadikin emphasized the need for government hospital managers to increase their ability to handle cases that require the presence of specialist doctors. “This is an effort to reduce the death rate at the national referral hospital,” he stated. baca-jugaRelated news: Suspected kidney failure cases in W Java may be measles: ministerRelated news: Ministry improves hospital’s facilities to serve new capital cityRelated news: Minister urges BLUs to manage assets worth Rp1,170 trillion properly

Source: Antara News Agency

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy underscored the importance of mapping disaster-prone regions in order to mitigate disaster risks.”Coordination and mapping of disaster-prone regions become essential priorities in the strengthening of sustainable resilience in facing disasters,” he remarked during the opening of the 2023 Disaster Mitigation National Coordination Meeting here on Thursday. Effendy stated that his ministry and all relevant ministries and institutions and regional governments would immediately identify disaster-prone regions comprehensively. The minister expressed optimism over the presence of a centralized disaster data coordinated by the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture and the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB). “Each region will have data that is centralized and coordinated by the BNPB and the coordinating ministry. Thus, the synchronization of policies needs to be strengthened and tailored to the needs of each region,” he explained. The minister also encouraged regional governments to continue to strengthen disaster mitigation efforts. “This is in accordance with the direction of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) regarding the importance of pre-disaster (preparedness) and the handling of disaster at an early stage,” he remarked. Effendy also underscored the need to focus on the president’s directive regarding the strengthening of the early warning system and community education, addressing spatial problems, and increasing earthquake-resistant construction. “This must become a (cause for) concern for all, especially regions that are prone to disasters,” he stated. t Thursday’s meeting, President Jokowi called on regional governments to include disaster risks in the development plan. “Regions must include disaster risks in their development plan, investment plan,” he remarked while opening the coordination meeting. ccording to the president, including disaster risks in the development plan would offer clear information regarding locations that cannot become targets of development. baca-jugaRelated news: Local govts should include disaster risk in development plans: JokowiRelated news: Climate change triggering greater concerns than pandemic, war: JokowiRelated news: Ministry calls for sustained vigilance against disasters

Source: Antara News Agency

if (medical graduates) become influencers, they should be able to educate people more. Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Health Ministry has said that the rising trend of medical graduates becoming content creators and influencers instead of practicing medicine is a matter of choice.”That is a choice, we cannot force people (to choose a certain job), the choice of job is a human right,” Head of the ministry’s Communication and Public Services Bureau Siti Nadia Tarmizi told ANTARA here on Wednesday (March 1, 2023). Doctors who become influencers can also have a big impact, for instance, in terms of educating the society, Tarmizi added. ccording to her, if medical graduates become influencers, they can recommend treatments and respond to or speak about health examination results–meaning they are influencers with more quality. “They have better resources, such as knowledge and competence regarding medicine. So if (medical graduates) become influencers, they should be able to educate people more,” Tarmizi explained. However, Indonesia is still facing a crunch when it comes to the number of medical personnel, especially doctors, and this is still an issue in the country’s health sector, she highlighted. The current ratio between doctors and the total population in Indonesia is 0.06:1,000, according to the bureau. “We cannot force it, the option of a medical graduate who has finished their education and then chooses another profession, but we have to admit that the number of doctors is lacking,” she said. Earlier, Minister of Health, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, said that Indonesia still needs 160 thousand additional doctors, noting that it will take 14 years to fill the gap in health human resources. Sadikin said the shortage of doctors refers to the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) standard that the ratio of doctors to the population should be 1:1,000. With the Indonesian population at 270 million, 270 thousand doctors are needed, while the number of working doctors is currently around 110 thousand. baca-jugaRelated news: Indonesia striving to solve shortage of specialists doctorsRelated news: Intern doctors in remote areas to receive Rp6.4-M living assistance

Source: Antara News Agency

The level of risk in Jakarta is relatively higher than in other provinces Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Jakarta Health Office is mitigating the risks of transmission of the current clade of H5N1 virus, called clade 2.3.4.4b, to prevent extraordinary events, such as widespread poultry disease.”We must be able to mitigate it, so it will not become a problem in Jakarta and Indonesia,” Head of the Jakarta Health Office Widyastuti stated during a seminar on bird flu prevention here on Thursday. Widyastuti stated that one of the mitigation efforts is educating the community about the prevention steps against the spread of bird flu. The province’s health office also bolstered preparedness in terms of the clinical aspect, such as at hospitals, local health centers, clinics, and professional health organizations. s of now, clade 2.3.4.4b has not been detected in Jakarta, but comprehensive mitigation should be conducted, considering the high public mobility that can transmit the bird flu virus more easily, she emphasized. “The level of risk in Jakarta is relatively higher than in other provinces,” Widyastuti stated. Two reported deaths due to the avian influenza H5N1 new variant 2.3.4.4b clade in Cambodia has alerted several countries, including Indonesia. “With information on bird flu cases in Cambodia, we both need to mitigate,” Widyastuti remarked. Indonesia reported avian influenza cases in 2005, while in 2006, some 55 cases were reported, with 45 cases of death. ccording to Widyastuti, during that time, H5N1 cases in Jakarta were higher than those in other regions in the country. The bird flu cases, both in the capital city and Indonesia, continued to decline until they reappeared in 2017. “Bird flu is transmitted via poultry, and there is no clear information that states it spreads through human-to-human infection,” she explained. Earlier, the Ministry of Health had expressed its concern regarding the tendency of 2.3.4.4b infecting humans following the finding of a case in poultry in a farm in South Kalimantan. “There are currently no reports of transmission to humans. However, we still have to be vigilant,” the Ministry’s Director General of Disease Prevention and Control, Rein Rondonuwu, stated on Monday (February 27). baca-jugaRelated news: Bird flu transmission to humans rare, but possible: expertRelated news: Ministry investigating dozens of poultry deaths in South KalimantanRelated news: Health Ministry wary of bird flu infection transmission to humans

Source: Antara News Agency

What is the world afraid of right now? Jakarta (ANTARA) – The global community is no longer as afraid of the pandemic and war as they are of climate change, which has significantly increased the frequency of natural disasters, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has remarked.”What is the world afraid of right now? It is not the pandemic, it is not the war, but there is something more horrible that is feared by all countries, which is climate change,” he stated at the opening of the 2023 National Coordination Meeting on Disaster Mitigation here on Thursday. The president noted that Indonesia is one of the top three countries most prone to disasters. The frequency of natural disasters in Indonesia had increased by 81 percent over the last decade, from 1,945 disasters in 2010 to 3,544 disasters in 2022, the president stated. “We do not only mitigate the (impacts of) floods, volcano eruptions, and landslides (but) we (also) face earthquakes, which become more frequent, as well as other natural and non-natural disasters,” he remarked. Hence, he emphasized that preparedness and vigilance are the keys to dealing with natural disasters. Jokowi also stressed that pre-disaster, emergency response, and post-disaster management must be conducted properly by all parties. On the same occasion, he also urged all local governments to include disaster risk mitigation attempts into their regional development plan as well as further simplify regulations on disaster aid disbursement, so that victims can get assistance at the earliest. Earlier, at the working meeting of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) on February 16, 2023, the president stated that the frequency of natural disasters and major accidents occurring worldwide jumped by up to five folds in the last 50 years. Hence, he encouraged Basarnas to involve the public in disaster-handling attempts by providing first aid training, especially to those residing in disaster-prone areas. He also appealed to the agency to improve its equipment with the use of the latest technology to accelerate the evacuation process of disaster victims. baca-jugaRelated news: Ministry calls for sustained vigilance against disastersRelated news: Pay attention to logistics supply during disasters: BNPB

Source: Antara News Agency

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The transmission of bird flu to humans is rare, but is still a risk, therefore, it must not be taken lightly, Chairul Anwar Nidom, Professor of Molecular Biology at the University of Airlangga, has said.”Actually, the WHO (World Health Organization) has also said that incidents (of bird flu transmission to humans) in Cambodia were rare events, but could happen,” he pointed out during an online discussion, which was followed from here on Thursday. “That means the possibility of transmission risk still exists. So, we cannot underestimate bird flu,” he added. However, Nidom said that the public does not need to worry because until now, there have been no incidents of human-to-human bird flu transmission. “Currently, the virus is only transmitted from birds to certain people around them,” he added. This is because the attachment sites or receptors for the bird flu virus are different from the receptors for the seasonal flu virus, which can spread among humans, Nidom explained. The bird flu virus receptor is sialic acid (SA) alpha-2,3, which is abundant in birds or poultry. Meanwhile, the seasonal influenza virus receptor in humans is alpha-2,6 galactose, which is abundant on the surface of the cells of the upper respiratory tract organs. Nidom said the transmission of the bird flu virus to humans can occur if the concentration of the virus is very high. For example, if a person with poor immunity enters an area with a very high concentration of the virus, it will be quite possible for the virus to enter their respiratory tract, he said. “When (the virus) enters, it makes adjustments to the receptors in our bodies. The virus also carries out replication activities and so on,” said Nidom. The mode of transmission is direct contact or from surfaces contaminated with the virus, he informed. “Direct contact can occur when (birds) feces or viruses that are on the surface of the skin of birds fly, then they are inhaled by humans,” he said. “While transmission through contaminated surfaces is when we touch chicken skin that is contaminated with the virus. The virus can enter the body through the nose or eyes,” he expounded. Thus, Nidom said that the risk of bird flu infection in humans remains open. Therefore, bird flu control must be carried out by all stakeholders. Communities can prevent a bird flu infection by implementing health protocols, such as wearing masks and keeping a distance from live birds. It is also advisable for people to maintain their health by consuming vitamins and herbs such as ginger, as well as taking flu or bird flu vaccinations when they are available. baca-jugaRelated news: Ministry investigating dozens of poultry deaths in South KalimantanRelated news: Health Ministry wary of bird flu infection transmission to humans

Source: Antara News Agency