Jakarta (ANTARA) - Inclusive COVID-19 vaccinations were conducted for vulnerable communities in 231 villages in Central Java under the Australia-Indonesia Health Security Partnership (AIHSP).

Based on the AIHSP press release received in Jakarta, Tuesday, the partnerships established since August 2022 have reached 74,394 people, including 14,332 elderly people, 797 people with disabilities, 58,666 members of underprivileged families, 1,409 people living far from health services, as well as other vulnerable groups.

"AIHSP supports local governments and partners in the field, such as Save the Children and Migrant Care, in encouraging multi-stakeholder collaboration based on community assets that enable program sustainability," Central Java AIHSP Provincial Coordinator Dr Hartanto Hardjono stated.

In this activity, AIHSP reaches out to vulnerable communities in Sentul Village, Cluwak District, Pati Regency, through an inclusive vaccination service called the VACCINE Program.

Pati Regency is one of the other Central Java regions -- Sragen, Magelang, Cilacap, Brebes, Pekalongan, and Pekalongan City -- to have also been targeted under a similar program.

Based on reports from the Ministry of Health as of March 19, 2023, the results of vaccination doses 1 and 2 in Central Java for the elderly over 60 years ranged from 2,546,760 people, or 69.18 percent of the total target of 3,681,475 people. This means that three out of 10 elderly people in the local area have not received the complete vaccine. In addition, seven out of 10 elderly people in Central Java have never received the booster vaccine 1.

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Hardjono said the program also aims to provide inclusive health access in ensuring the availability of health facilities for the elderly, persons with disabilities, women and children, as well as those with difficulty in accessing facilities, infrastructure, and information about related services.

"This is done through collaborative work with civil society organizations, community-based and religious organizations, organizations of people with disabilities, and other local actors, who are our program partners," he stated.

Inclusive COVID-19 vaccination was conducted in Sentul Village in collaboration with the Pati District Health Office, the Cluwak Health Center, the village government, and community-based organizations, such as Roro Mendut, AGRA, PPDI, and DECOP.

“We are very open to cooperating with any party. So far, our obstacle in the field has been to mobilize targets, as people do not really feel the need for vaccinations anymore. We are very helpful if there are parties that help us improve vaccination results," Head of the Cluwak Health Center Sunarto stated.

Nationwide, the collaborative work by AIHSP along with Save the Children, Migrant Care, and local governments has been carried out by 23 districts and cities in five provinces in Indonesia, which, as a whole, had succeeded in providing inclusive COVID-19 vaccination services to 161,833 people.

From the total figure, there are 34,510 elderly people, 4,352 people with disabilities, and 97,654 of the total are members of pre-prosperous families.

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