Council to give public better healthcare access

Tue, 10/14/2008 10:27 AM | Bali

Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari opened Monday a workshop and conference to discuss the creation of the Bali Public Health Council (DKR) at Nikki Hotel in Denpasar in an effort to provide people with direct access to healthcare.

The conference will specifically discuss the creation of a fully prepared community in each banjar (traditional neighborhood organization), or banjar siaga, a publicly run organization that will coordinate health-related preparations should disaster or an epidemic strike.

The concept behind the banjar siaga was developed by the Health Ministry, local health agencies and local village officials. The scheme will further educate and help the public to respond to sudden disasters or epidemics and avoid further damage.

"This is a move against the capitalistic liberalization in the health community. The poor must always be served to empower themselves against diseases," Siti said.

"The DKR, through its fully prepared communities, will be the core of the public health movement."

She said the creation of the Bali chapter of the DKR, the 12th in Indonesia so far, would serve to cut the corruption-ridden bureaucratic chain in the country's healthcare system.

"A lot of poor people have complained that they have not been served properly by the Jamkesmas (Public Health Security) program," Siti said.

"This is not the hospital's fault but rather the fault of the neighborhood chief or the regent who did not properly list those who deserved to be a part of that program."

She said the DKR would further increase administrative supervision of the public, taking as an example the enlistment of poor people qualified for enrollment in the Jamkesmas, formerly known as the Askeskin (Poor's Health Insurance) program.

The Limas Foundation, an NGO focusing on community empowerment, also facilitated the creation of the Bali chapter of the DKR.

Officials from the foundation and local health agencies said the conference included representatives from all of Bali's villages.

"Around 500 people will attend the discussion and help plan the details on how this DKR will operate in Bali," said Wayan Tirja Nugraha, the conference's organizing committee head.

He said the conference would focus on nine issues that have been plaguing the country's healthcare system, including the distribution of Jamkesmas, hospitals turning away patients, low-quality and cheap medicines, public pharmacies and cost reductions.

Other topics for discussion are the maternal and infant mortality rates, the number of malnutrition cases and various contagious diseases.

He said an official would conduct a village health inspection by observing residents or conducting interviews before allowing the creation of the banjar siaga.

The banjar siaga will serve to coordinate and mediate with village officials, public health centers and the local health agencies by providing healthcare-related advice on medicine supply, referrals for poor patients and Jamkesmas enrollment.

The idea of the DKR was pioneered during a workshop for the creation of fully prepared communities in Jakarta in March 2008.

Siti Fadillah Supari was also discussing her controversial book, It's Time For The World to Change, which talks about the intricacies of governmental policies regarding the sharing of the bird flu vaccine.

She appeared to get emotional as she laid out the process that led her to discover the liberal capitalist network in the health community she referred to in her book. --Luh De Suryani

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