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Promoting healthy lifestyles, lessons from Thailand
Although Germas is different from Thai Health, there are some lessons we can learn to further improve the implementation of the preventive and promotive program in Indonesia.
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Accelerate: Students in Depok run up a hill as part of their running training program. (JP/P.J. Leo)
D
uring the presidential candidate debates, the notion of a preventive and promotive program for healthy lifestyles was raised many times. Prabowo Subianto and vice presidential candidate Sandiaga Uno promised to embark on a healthy lifestyle campaign by promoting 22 minutes of exercise daily, while incumbent President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his VP candidate Ma’ruf Amin promoted a program that focuses on health promotion.
Both presidential candidates shared the same view about the importance of a preventive program to decrease the incidence of disease because the sustainability of universal health coverage also depends on disease prevention and health promotion.
Indonesia’s approach to disease prevention and health promotion was highlighted in 2017, under Presidential Instruction No. 1 on the People’s Movement for Healthy Lifestyle, better known as “Germas”. The presidential instruction was issued to strengthen multi-sectoral efforts for health promotion.
In Thailand, an integrated prevention program has been managed by the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (Thai Health) since 2001, around the same time as the establishment of the Universal Health Coverage Scheme. The Thai Health programs have been implemented with two key strengths: a multi-sectoral management body that is responsible for planning, coordinating and evaluating the impacts; and a strong financial mechanism utilizing a cigarette surcharge tax.
Although Germas is different from Thai Health, there are some lessons we can learn to further improve the implementation of the preventive and promotive program in Indonesia.
Thai Health is a state-owned body developed to actively reduce risky behaviors, including tobacco and alcohol use; traffic injuries and disaster management; physical exercise and sports for health; and healthy food and diet. Thai Health designed a health promotion as an integrative program, not limited to the educational program, but also to ensure a policy environment conducive to behavioral change. Therefore, they have research and policy advocacy in their mandate complementing the public campaign.
Rather than being part of the Public Health Ministry, Thai Health is organized under the supervision of the Prime Minister. Thai Health is structured to maintain the representativeness of various sectors that have influence over healthy behavior. Their flexibility as an independent body enables them to coordinate with diverse institutions and organizations, including government institutions, research centers and civil society organizations.
