The pandemic happened in the west Papua and the other places in Indonesia is not a reason to delay the government’s programs. The most important is about health.
They still do some efforts to handle several illness, infectious or not. One of them is by improving the sanitation and making a better environment.
Muhadjir Effendy as a Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture said there are still many diseases to watch out for in Papua province.
Those are like the acute respiratory tract infections (ISPA), malaria, HIV/AIDS, leprosy, stunting, and Covid-19 for sure. These illnesses are still becoming a problem to face.
Based on the report, in East Arso Health Center, Keroom Regency, for example, ISPA cases in 2020 reached 913. Followed by Malaria (845) and Myalgia (450).
Then it is followed by Febris Observation or which can be an early symptom of dengue and typhoid (293), gastritis (226), various other diseases up to diarrhea (66) and hypertension (61).
Improving Sanitation as a Recommended Solution
For the west Papua itself, Muhadjir comes with several solutions. One of the best solutions is like by repairing the sanitation there and make it is better. He had asked for improvements in environmental sanitation including MCK (toilet washing bath).
He also agree once here there is already a general / communal MCK. 1 unit for families. He think it’s good enough but most importantly he remind everyone that there is a responsibility to be cleaned, not to rundown, not to get dirty.
In that moment, the minister was accompanied by Keroom Piter Gusbager as the regent and the head of health institution in the province, Aloysius Giyai. Further more, the dirty environment and sanitation is a factor which can trigger any illnesses.
It is not only in the west Papua, but also in the other places. That is why; the enough and proper toilets are really essential to handle that problem. It is especially to prevent any kinds of diseases.
Vaccinations must be Continued in the West Papua
The minister Muhadjir also recommend the people in that province to be vaccinated as soon as possible. It is because the range of vaccination there is quite low.
It is needed to be done because Indonesia is chasing the target. He asked to increase the target again where the social awareness must be fixed.
Before, he visited the local hospital in the Jayapura to ensure the basic services there. Those are like the tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and some other against. In future, the social service must be better than before.
The aim is to make thatprovince and the areas around are healthier than before. Elsewhere, The Indonesian Institute of Sciences said maternal and child health services for indigenous Papuans, especially in West Papua Province, require increased availability.
It needs the increased access to skilled services, resources and education for local residents. Those are the basic aspects which need to be considered. This Maternal and child health services in the province face various obstacles.
There are some challenges ahead; both in terms of service providers and service users. The fact is that, maternal and child health is an important measure for the next generation in the future. To solve it, the right cooperation between some parties are requited.
The Challenges for Maternal and Child Health
As it is informed before that the health aspect like that is facing some challenges and problems. Here are some of those problems.
- The low utilization of services
The low utilization of health services is affected by the limitations and structural challenges of service providers such as health services, community health centers (puskesmas), etc.
That is related to the socio cultural factor, especially owned by the indigenous papuans. The Factors that affect the utilization of the services in the region are quite complex.
The basic side is related to socio-cultural determinants that affect the services. Meanwhile ,on the downstream side related to the availability and access to the services.
- Social awareness
The social awareness in the west Papua about health is essential to increase their understanding and how to use the services. The example is like a pregnancy check up.
The physical and infrastructure development are needed to solve the limited services. Problems of limited facilities and infrastructure include inadequate road infrastructure.
It is also about the limited transportation facilities, the availability of limited support facilities such as electricity, water and communication facilities.
Those problems cause disruption of services such as electrically operated medical devices constrained. It maybe looks simple, but has a crucial role.
- Housings for the medical staffs
There are problems related to housing for medical workers who are limited. It is not optimal to guarantee against the disruption of safety and comfort of the workers. The medical workers in the west Papua and around it is also lacking.
The Difficult geographical conditions such as hills and mountains are a challenge. That is why; the staffs who are available for people living in the interior become less than optimal. It requires the high cost as well in the west Papua and other areas there.
