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View all search resultsFree health screening to shift focus to treatment
The Health Ministry is prioritizing treating hypertension, hyperglycemia and high cholesterol as the conditions may lead to noncommunicable diseases such as stroke, kidney failure and other cardiovascular diseases that can be fatal.
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A health worker examines a female patient's blood pressure on July 17 during the free health screening at the Mandonga subdistrict office in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi. More than 73 million people nationwide received free screenings in the first seven months of 2026, according to the Health Ministry. (Antara/Andry Denisah)
T
he government is shifting its focus from free health screenings to controlling and treating priority diseases most detected through the checkups, with more people participating in the second year of the program.
More than 73 million people, from newborns to the elderly, received free screenings in the first seven months of this year, surpassing the 70 million examinations conducted throughout 2025. The screening, one of President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship programs, was launched in February 2025.
As the program is used to map the country’s disease burden, the Health Ministry is now moving to ensure follow-up care for people with health problems, particularly hypertension, hyperglycemia and high cholesterol.
“Our goal is not only to screen, but to make people healthier,” Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said in a briefing on Tuesday.
“If we can keep these three conditions under control, we can reduce cases of stroke, heart disease and kidney failure, which are among the country’s leading causes of death.”
The three conditions are prioritized as they were the most common findings among adults participating in the free screening, alongside abdominal obesity, physical inactivity and dental cavities.
The ministry also highlighted the detection of heart disease risk among newborns, as well as high blood pressure among school-age children and teenagers. Meanwhile, the most common health problems among the elderly were physical inactivity, obesity, tooth loss, prehypertension and diabetes.
