Health experts have lauded Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s newly launched free health screening drive, but warn that poor access in rural areas, stigma associated with certain diseases and a lack of resources at related facilities could hinder the programme.
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On Monday, the government launched the programme for all 280 million Indonesians, one of Prabowo’s so-called ‘quick win’ priority schemes aside from free lunch for students, toddlers, and pregnant women.
The programme, which is expected to cost 4.7 trillion rupiah (US$287.3 million) this year, provides a free voucher of basic health screening for every Indonesian, which can be claimed on – or up to 30 days after – their birthday, at 10,000 public health centres and 15,000 health clinics across the archipelago. Each voucher is valued at between 1.6 million rupiah and 2 million rupiah.
Under the initiative, citizens would be tested for their blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol level, among others, Health Minister Budi Sadikin told reporters on Monday.
“All kinds of diseases, such as cancer, stroke, heart, kidney, are actually chronic diseases that take five years to get really bad. If it is detected early, it can be treated well and much cheaper,” Budi said during a visit to a public health centre in Surabaya.
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Nearly 17,000 Indonesians took part on Monday, the programme’s first day, according to Budi. The government is targeting 60 million participants in the first year of the programme.