Dengue Should Be Priority for Indonesia, Not Swine Flu: Indonesian lawmaker

Dessy Sagita, The Jakarta Globe 29 Dec 09;

The avian and swine flu strains may have caused the most panic, but combating tuberculosis, dengue fever and malnutrition should top the Ministry of Health’s priorities for 2010, a lawmaker said on Tuesday.

“Our government is sometimes too preoccupied in handling imported diseases such as bird flu or swine flu, they neglect the other diseases that have caused far more fatalities in Indonesia,” said Ribka Tjiptaning from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

The H1N1 swine flu scare most likely distracted health workers from dealing with outbreaks of dengue fever, which continued to be a serious threat across the country, she added.

The ministry’s records show that from January through to July this year, there were 585 deaths from dengue from a total of 77,000 cases. The data also shows that on average, 88,000 people die of tuberculosis every year across the archipelago.

In comparison, the bird flu virus has only claimed 119 lives throughout the country since 2003. About 1,000 people were infected by swine flu, which reportedly claimed 10 lives.

Dr. Kartono Muhammad, a noted public health expert and former chairman of the Indonesian Medical Association, said on Tuesday that Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih had done nothing significant in her first 100 days in office, outside of her plans to broaden the coverage of a health insurance scheme for the poor, known as Jamkesmas.

“The scheme, however, is giving the public an unrealistic view about our health services,” Kartono said. “In the end, I won’t be surprised if the public will be disappointed when expectations fall short.”

The government wants to expand Jamkesmas to include victims of natural disasters and people at social institutions such as orphanages, nursing homes, disabled care centers, drug rehabilitation centers and in prisons.

Kartono said that during her first 100 days in office, Endang could have focused on a number of health issues, including setting pricing limits on generic medicines, issuing regulations to assist the implementation of the recently endorsed Health Law and the aggressive promotion of family planning programs.

Ribka said Endang could have also better handled last month’s filariasis incident in West Java, in which nine people died allegedly from consuming anti-filariasis medication as part of the ministry’s mass treatment program, a charge Endang has dismissed.

“She should have settled the filariasis issue first before she made her ministerial visit to another province,” Ribka said.