We hope that all parts of the community can be served by Posyandu, in accordance with the Minister of Home Affairs Regulation No. 18 of 2018 that all communities must have access to basic (health) services.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The activities of integrated health service posts (Posyandu), which have been reduced amid the COVID-19 pandemic, must be reactivated, Director of Health Promotion and Community Empowerment at the Health Ministry, Dr. Imran Agus Nurali, has said.

"Currently there are about 292 thousand posts. However, only 21 percent of them are active, and this year we expect to increase the percentage," he disclosed at an online press conference here on Tuesday.

According to Nurali, reactivating Posyandu activities is vital for ensuring that toddlers can get complete basic vaccinations, children's growth and development can be monitored, and check-ups can be provided to pregnant women.

Posyandu services also need to be adapted so that there is no crowding that can trigger COVID-19 transmission, he added.

"We have adjusted the guidelines. Posyandu services will follow the PPKM level of each region, whether it is the red or green zone. The services can be done online or through house visits, and the cadres will come to help later," Nurali explained.

"If the services have to be face-to-face, they can be implemented in sessions. Each family must also bring their own cloth for weighing toddlers because previously the weighing had used the same provided cloth," he added.

He further pointed out that Posyandu activities are expected to not only reach infants, toddlers, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and Family Planning services, but they can also serve all people, irrespective of age, including adolescents, those from the productive age group, and the elderly.

"We hope that all parts of the community can be served by Posyandu, in accordance with the Minister of Home Affairs Regulation No. 18 of 2018 that all communities must have access to basic (health) services," he uttered.

"For the productive age category, we serve in the efforts of healthy working, and for the elderly, we measure their blood pressure, weight, blood sugar level (diabetes)," he added.

Not only that, Nurali revealed that after conducting an evaluation, there were several proposals for using Posyandu as a food security post. Through them, families can have a common land for growing crops, such as medicinal plants and vegetables, he explained.

"I have witnessed this idea has been implemented by a part of Posyandu's community in Lampung," he added.

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Translator: Suci N, Kenzu T
Editor: Sri Haryati
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