JAKARTA - The Minister of Health (Menkes) Budi Gunadi Sadikin stated that his party was trying to improve the tuberculosis (TB) treatment regimen to be more effective and efficient, as part of the strategy to accelerate the elimination of TB in Indonesia.
"So that what used to be 22 months now becomes 6 months. Now I have asked Dr. Benny (Deputy Minister of Health Benjamin Paulus Oktavianus) to come to Europe once. To meet how TB is from 6 months to be made 1 month of taking medicine and 1 injection," said Budi in Jakarta, Monday.
Budi explained that tuberculosis is a disease that has existed for thousands of years and actually has a cure. However, the cases of tuberculosis in Indonesia have not decreased, one of which is because of the stigma so that patients are reluctant to admit or treat their disease.
"Every year there are an estimated 1 million, 136 thousand dead, so every time I talk for 5 minutes, 2 people die in Indonesia because of this tuberculosis disease," he said.
To accelerate treatment, the Ministry of Health has actively carried out TB screening so that more cases can be found and treated. This screening is now integrated into the Free Health Check (CKG) program.
"Actually, my target to Mrs. Ami (Inspector General of the Ministry of Health Murti Utami) this year is 900 thousand. It's just that the detection is usually delayed for 2 months, 3 months," explained Budi.
By including TB screening in CKG, the government hopes to be able to examine hundreds of millions of people. Budi also mentioned plans for special screening for high-prevalence groups, including detention centers, HIV-prone groups, and boarding schools that have group beds.
"Then for areas with high prevalence, we think it's the houses of prisoners. Groups vulnerable to HIV. We are also thinking of going to boarding schools because they usually sleep in groups. That's what we want to actively do," he said.
In addition, the Ministry of Health will use x-rays and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests in CKG to detect TB. The government will also trace the contacts of the patient's family or neighbors to provide TB prevention or prevention drugs.
"Then we also want to see who are the neighbors or housemates. We want to give prophylaxis or TB prevention drugs," said Budi.
Based on the data of the CKG Service Dashboard as of December 1, 2025 confirmed in Jakarta, as many as 20,691,206 people have been screened for TB. Of these, 362,814 people showed signs and symptoms of TB, and 24,263 people were diagnosed with new TB.
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