Some civil servants in Indonesia’s capital began working from home Monday under measures aimed at reducing traffic congestion to alleviate horrendous air pollution that has gripped the city and been blamed for President Joko Widodo’s persistent cough.
Health
President Joko Widodo’s reported month-long cough has prompted his government to address air pollution; critics remain sceptical.
As Australia is cracking down on vaping, Dateline looks at why Indonesia has gone the other way.
Indonesia’s Health Minister, Budi G. Sadikin, recently met with billionaire Elon Musk to discuss the possibility of collaborating to bring internet access to underserved community health centres in the country, known as puskesmas.
Indonesia’s capital Jakarta topped the list as the world’s most polluted city on Wednesday, having consistently ranked among the 10 most polluted cities globally since May, according to data by Swiss air quality technology company IQAir.
Indonesia’s healthcare reforms are set to attract foreign doctors to practise in the country, but patients say they will continue seeking treatment abroad unless overall health facilities improve.
And there are concerns that the thriving trade could pose a public health risk, and potentially the next global pandemic.
The World Health Organization South-East Asia Region today complimented member countries for scaling up childhood immunization coverage to pre-pandemic levels and called for continued intensified efforts with a focus on reaching the 2.3 million un-vaccinated and 650 000 partially vaccinated children.
The government is ramping up its efforts to bring the rising obesity rate below 3 percent by 2030 by focusing on improving public health education and monitoring processed foods.
Indonesia has made remarkable strides in adoption of smoke-free policy. As of June 2023, a total of 456 cities and districts, equal to around 86% of 520 cities and districts in Indonesia, have adopted smoke-free policies.
There have been cases of surrogacy in several regions of Indonesia, carried out by individuals secretly through family connections.
Indonesia relies on coal-fired power for 62.5% of its electricity generation. This reliance comes with significant impacts on the country’s air quality and public health, as well as a major contribution to the growth in greenhouse gas emissions over the past decade. The coal phase-out and net-zero pathways currently being prepared are a major opportunity to clean up Indonesia’s power system.
The Health Bill of Indonesia was recently approved by the Indonesian Parliament, granting permission for foreign medical specialists to practise and establish themselves in the country.
Lawmakers passed the omnibus health bill into law on Tuesday, eliminating mandatory health spending, which critics say will hurt the development of the national health system.
Indonesia has achieved high coverage for the first two of COVID-19 vaccine doses. The country grapples, however, with a considerable drop-off in the administration of booster shots.
Approximately 70% of emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) in Indonesia originate from zoonoses, leading to escalating public health concerns.