Hashim Emphasizes the Development of 3 Million Houses to Press Stunting and TB
JAKARTA - Chairman of the Housing Task Force and Special Envoy of the President of the Republic of Indonesia Hashim Djojohadikusumo stated that the construction of 3 million houses not only provides decent housing, but also becomes a strategic step for the government to suppress stunting and tuberculosis which is triggered by unhealthy residential environments.
"Mothers who don't have houses, children who don't have decent housing. We already know that unhealthy environments cause stunting. Why? Because children's health is disturbed," he said in the groundbreaking for Housing Development in Support of the 3 Million House Program on the assets of PT Kereta Api Indonesia in the Manggarai Station area, Jakarta, quoted by Antara, Tuesday, March 17.
According to him, there are still many families in Indonesia who do not have decent houses, so that children grow up in unhealthy environments and have the potential to trigger various health problems.
He explained that the dense and unhealthy conditions of residential areas can cause health problems in children, including an increased risk of stunting.
In addition, Hashim highlighted the high incidence of tuberculosis or TB in Indonesia which is closely related to inadequate housing conditions. However, it did not mention the current number of stunting and TB cases.
"We already know that in Indonesia we are the second most ugly country in the field of health, especially tuberculosis. In terms of tuberculosis prevalence, tuberculosis is a lung disease. What caused it? Caused by adjacent housing in slums," he said.
He said Indonesia is currently one of the countries with the highest prevalence of TB in the world after India. The disease is found in densely populated and slum areas that have poor sanitation and inadequate ventilation.
According to Hashim, this condition causes many children and the community to be vulnerable to diseases that can actually be prevented through improvements in the quality of the living environment.
He added that the findings were also strengthened through a free health examination program that had been used by 72 million Indonesians. From the results of the examination, the government found that many people still suffer from TB due to unhealthy living conditions.
"And it turns out that I heard from the Minister of Health and the Deputy Minister of Health that both of them said that indeed many of our children and people suffer from TB. This is a disaster for the Indonesian nation. TB and stunting," he said.
Therefore, the development of decent housing is considered an important step to improve the quality of life of the community as well as improve the health of the younger generation.
Hashim also appreciated the initiative of PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) which utilizes land assets for the development of healthier and organized residential areas.
According to him, housing development not only has an impact on public health, but is also able to drive economic growth through development activities and supporting industries.
He emphasized that the housing development program can simultaneously bring about social justice and accelerate economic growth, as has been proven in a number of countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Health stated that tuberculosis (TB) is still the biggest public health challenge in Indonesia.
The Global Tuberculosis Report 2024 report notes that Indonesia is ranked second in the world with an estimated 1.09 million TB cases and 125,000 deaths per year. This figure confirms the urgency of accelerating the massive and integrated control of TB.
Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin in Sidoarjo, East Java, Sunday (9/11/2025) said that handling TB disease itself is one of the three acceleration programs of President Prabowo Subianto in the health sector, in order to anticipate the spread of dangerous infectious diseases which are predicted to be able to take around 125 thousand lives in 2025.