Everyone wants equality in life and welfare. And so does the people in the eastern part of Indonesia, such as West Papua. The province that is known for its rich culture and biodiversity has been given many developments in all sectors, including health. However, the government effort and programs have always faced a lot of challenges. Here are the details.
The Health problem in Papua
Being one of the outer parts of the Indonesian make the Papua regions and island lack any development. In this case, health development itself has been one of the primary concerns. It is especially true due to the three main health problems that are hard to solve, the poverty and inability to effort high maternal and child mortality rates.
There is also a lack of access to medical facilities and a higher HIV/Aids prevalence. That problem has been surfacing from the UN research in 2017. It also reported that the life expectancy back in 2017 was at a quite low 65.32% rate (West Papua Health Office). But, it does not mean the government does nothing about Papua health and welfare.
The Government effort
Two regulations aim to speed up the implementation of various welfare development in Papua. It was stated in presidential decree number 20 of 2020 and presidential instruction number 9 of 2020. The point is to treat the provinces equally as the other regions. So, welfare and development have been in route.
In the health sector, one of the efforts is the healthy Papua Program. It is a program that mainly focuses on providing easy access to treatment. The project has been implemented in eight districts. There is also another government effort in the form of improving the RSUD or regional general hospital facilities and development.
The program covers seven customary areas in Papua, including the famous west Papua province. The health development mainly focuses on providing decent housing for the community, strengthening the health center, addressing stunting, and handling abandoned children. The funding will be associated with institutions or ministries.
There is also a Bela Kampung program that focuses on researching the malaria control effort using EDAT or early detection and treatment system. The local communities as well as the GERMAS or Gerakan Masyarakat also help fight malaria disease. As in 2019, the project has reached 100% of membership and coverage.
The Challenges To Tackle
There are many challenges to tackle. The first greatest challenge is the vast land and uneven population in west Papua or Papua as a whole. There are also issues on the lack of health access, safety for the practitioner, unhealthy lifestyle, poor sanitation, or simply lack of food access. Poor transportation and information are also huge factors that hinder the success of many programs.
The low health expectation in the Papua island is not mainly the mistakes of two sides, government or native. The health development that has been carried out faces some problems such as locations, foods, inadequate sanitation, poor transportation access, to minimal information infrastructure. But there is still bright hope for the future.
