That challenge does not include the transmission of COVID-19 that is still a pandemic in several countries, the vice president noted while giving instructions at the online peak commemorative event of World Tuberculosis Day 2021 on Wednesday.
"Apart from the current COVID-19 pandemic, we must admit that there are still several challenges in our health sector. We are currently facing a triple burden of diseases that have emerged simultaneously," Amin noted.
The three diseases whose cases are increasing concurrently are non-communicable diseases (PTM), classic infectious diseases, and new infectious diseases.
Non-communicable diseases in Indonesia have also experienced an epidemiological transition, with the number of cases increasing to over 50 percent.
“In more than 15 years, an epidemiological transition has occurred, with non-communicable diseases, such as heart diseases, stroke, and kidney failure, increasing to over 57 percent, from around 37 percent in the previous period," he remarked.
The epidemiological transition of non-communicable diseases calls for more serious attention and treatment, as the cost of treating them is the biggest burden on the National Health Insurance Program (JKN).
"Apart from being a major burden on the health financing of the JKN program, this non-communicable disease is actually caused by unhealthy behavior, such as unbalanced diet, lack of exercise, and smoking, which can actually be prevented," he pointed outs.
Hence, the vice president is optimistic that all parties related to health services would improve their performance by providing education and disseminating information to the public to lead a clean and healthy lifestyle.
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Translator: Fransiska Ninditya, Katriana
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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