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Jakarta Post

Cilincing learns of sanitation the fun way

A public health clinic in Cilin-cing, North Jakarta, has had enough of sanitation-related diseases hitting the flood-inflicted area

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
Wed, November 27, 2013

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Cilincing learns of sanitation the fun way

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public health clinic in Cilin-cing, North Jakarta, has had enough of sanitation-related diseases hitting the flood-inflicted area.

Targeting children in the neighborhood in its promotion of a clean and healthy lifestyle, the clinic (Puskesmas) has prepared a fun package to get the message across, which includes a video on YouTube entitled Kegiatan PHBS Puskesmas Kecamatan Cilincing Jakarta Utara, a comic book, a poster-size calendar and songs.

Ety Ekowati, 40, a member of the clinic'€™s promotion division, said she created the story line of the comic book and the lyrics of the songs and asked friends to help prepare the details.

'€œWe, for example, asked a musician to arrange and record the songs, an illustrator to draw the comic sketches and a videographer to record the video,'€ said Ety on Monday.

The video shows activities that promote a clean and healthy lifestyle, such as teaching children how to wash their hands properly, with one of Ety'€™s songs as background music. The comic book, meanwhile, tells the story of a boy who gets sick after playing in floodwater.

Ety said the story line of the comic book was related to the Cilincing community'€™s annual experience in facing floods.

She said she and her team came up with the idea of promoting the lifestyle after noticing that many people in the district often suffered diarrhea and respiratory tract infections.

'€œDisease spreads quickly in a dirty environment. Therefore, we teach children to wash their hands regularly to prevent them from getting sick,'€ she said.

According to Ety, the Puskesmas chose to focus on teaching children because they absorbed information easily. '€œWe hope they can teach their parents and make it into a daily habit.'€

The Jakarta Health Agency sets 10 indicators for a clean and healthy lifestyle, which comprise washing the hands, using a toilet, using clean water, not smoking, giving birth with the help of medical staff, eating fruit and vegetables, breast-feeding, regular health checks for infants and cleaning up possible breeding grounds for Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

Ety said the Puskesmas would invite teachers to a three-day meeting, starting Tuesday, to discuss the schedule of promoting the lifestyle.

The lifestyle promotion will also involve cooperation with non-governmental organization Save the Children, which is currently carrying out education and health programs in a school in Cilincing.

'€œIt'€™s a coincidence that we have similar programs related to education on health for children,'€ said Ety.

Clara Wuwungan, 37, the clinic'€™s coordinator for community health, said most residents tended to think about the cure rather than prevention in dealing with disease.

'€œWe notice that after the launch of the Jakarta Health Cards by [Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo] Jokowi early this year, the residents often return with the same illness and ask for medicine,'€ she said.

The clinic recorded 27,469 people or 32.2 percent of Cilincing residents living unclean and unhealthy lifestyles in 2012.

The clinic hopes to reduce the number after running its lifestyle program. (nai)

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