JAKARTA - In addition to controlling blood sugar levels properly, diabetics must also pay attention to the health condition of other body organs, one of which is the eyes. This is because if the eyes of diabetics experience blurred vision, it could be an early sign of diabetic retinopathy.
Indonesia itself ranks fifth as the country with the largest diabetes population in the world. A population study in Yogyakarta revealed a prevalence of diabetic retinopathy of 43.1 percent among diabetic patients, much higher than the global average of 35.4 percent.
"Uncontrolled blood sugar makes the damage continue. Unfortunately, this diabetes does not come alone, it brings like cholesterol, obesity, and hypertension which aggravates the damage of blood vessels, starting from triggering diabetic retinopathy in the eyes," said the General Chair of PERKENI, Prof. Dr. dr. Em Yunir, Sp, PD, K-EMD, during a journalist forum on Monday, July 20, 2026.
Diabetic retinopathy is a complication that occurs when high blood sugar levels for a long time damage small blood vessels in the retina, the nerve layer at the back of the eye that captures light and sends visual signals to the brain.
The damage can cause blood vessels to swell, leak, and even trigger the growth of new fragile blood vessels. This results in impaired vision such as blurred vision and in severe conditions it can lead to blindness.
"Although it is the most common complication, diabetic retinopathy is ironically the least discussed health issue," said Prof. dr. Muhammad Bayu Sasongko, M.Epi, Ph.D., Sp.M. (UGM).
"As a result, there is a less appropriate normalization in the community that disturbing vision function in old age due to diabetes is considered normal, even though blindness can actually be prevented," added Prof. Bayu.
Therefore, more widespread education in the community and easy access to screening related to diabetic retinopathy are needed, for early and rapid detection so that complications can be prevented.
To overcome this, the Indonesian Ministry of Health, Gajah Mada University (UGM), and Roche Indonesia launched a public-private strategic partnership, whose goal is to transform the national eye health ecosystem and prevent vision loss in the diabetes population.
"The government is committed not only to controlling diabetes, but also to preventing its derivative complications comprehensively. Through the CKG program, people can already check their blood sugar regularly. And we are integrating services so that patients with diabetes mellitus can also screen for retina at the Puskesmas in order to expand early detection," explained the Director of P2PTM, Ministry of Health, dr. Siti Nadia Tarmizi, M.Epid.
In this collaboration, Roche Indonesia itself acts as a catalyst for innovation. In addition to providing cutting-edge therapies, they are also actively supporting the government in providing research funding and designing systemic interventions to improve the screening and referral process.
"We are committed to fighting the main causes of preventable blindness such as diabetic retinopathy. Our contribution goes beyond providing sophisticated drugs. We work closely with all stakeholders, including health workers and governments to strengthen the screening and referral process for the detection of eye diseases due to diabetes," continued the Director of Access, Communication and Health System Linkage Roche Indonesia, Lucia Erniwati.
The main objective of the collaboration is to build a comprehensive tele-ophthamology pilot project from upstream to downstream to bridge the infrastructure gap, including the lack of availability of eye health workers.
By placing a retina camera (fundus camera) and training general practitioners and nurses at primary health facilities (Puskesmas), this effort is expected to systematically find "hidden cases" and produce strong scientific evidence to serve as a basis for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy to government policymaking.
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