The Ministry Of Health Prevents Infectious Diseases With A COVID-19 Control Strategy

Screenshot - Indonesian Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin in a Working Meeting with Commission IX of the DPR RI followed online in Jakarta, Tuesday (24/1/2023). (ANTARA/Andi Firdaus).

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Health has adopted a strategy to control COVID-19 in an effort to prevent the rate of cases of a number of non-communicable diseases that now dominate among patients. "We will continue to carry out non-communicable disease strategies such as COVID-19, promotions, surveillance, therapy," said Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin in a Working Meeting with Commission IX of the DPR RI followed by a network in Jakarta, Antara, Tuesday, January 24. According to Budi, the number of patients being treated is currently starting to shift to non-communicable diseases, along with the transition from the pandemic to the COVID-19 endemic in Indonesia. The strategy implemented is by strengthening the role of health promotion at the primary service level, such as the Puskesmas. This activity was carried out in conjunction with health screening using the latest technology tools that were more aggressive in 14 diseases, including stroke, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, heart disease, tuberculosis, and others. "We have run the 14 screening program at Puskesmas and Posyandu. Some new technologies such as cervical cancer, used to use pap smear or IVA test, now we are trying to use DNA HPV which is much better using laboratories in Indonesia," he said. Budi said that DNA HPV screening in order to detect early uterine cancer is one of the latest technologies that is being expanded nationally this year. Professor of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia, Prof. Tjandra Yoga Aditama, said that the death rate from non-communicable diseases (PTM) in the world is more than infectious diseases. "About 74 percent of deaths in the world occur due to various non-communicable diseases, and this is equivalent to 41 million people dying in the world every year due to non-communicable diseases," he said. Of all deaths from non-communicable diseases in the world, said Tjandra, 77 percent or around 31.4 million occurred in low- and middle-income countries, including Indonesia. Tjandra, who is also a former Director of Infectious Diseases of WHO Southeast Asia, said that every year in the world there are 17 million people under the age of 70 who died, due to non-communicable diseases, 86 percent of which also occur in low- and middle-income countries. "On the other hand, 67 percent of non-communicable diseases start to attack humans under 40 years of age, and certainly disrupt their work productivity, and on a large scale as well as the nation's productivity," he said. The world's main non-communicable diseases include cardiovascular disease, such as heart attacks and strokes, various types of cancer, lung disease or chronic respiration, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchial asthma, and diabetes. Tjandra said cardiovascular disease causes 17.9 million deaths a year in the world, 9.3 million cancers, 4.1 million chronic lung disease, and diabetes causing 2 million deaths, including kidney disease related to diabetes.