"Based on current data, Papua Province contributes the most (number of) malaria cases, which is 81 percent nationally," the ministry's Director General of Disease Prevention and Control (P2P) Maxi Rein Rondonuwu stated at the launch of the 2022 Malaria Eradication Month in Jayapura District, Papua, followed online here on Monday.
According to the report from the Directorate General of Disease Prevention and Control of the Ministry of Health, the number of positive cases of malaria in Indonesia currently stands at 248,860. Of the figure, 229,015 have been treated successfully.
Moreover, the number of detected suspects reached 1,758,104 from the tested specimens totaling 1,745,258.
Rondonuwu stated that malaria was, so far, eradicated in only 362 of the total 514 districts and cities in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, five regions with the highest number of malaria cases are located in Papua Province: 77,379 cases in Mimika District, 27,436 cases in Jayapura City, 17,676 cases in Jayapura District, 12,099 cases in Yahukimo District, and 10,804 cases in Keerom District.
According to Rondonuwu, reduction in cases of malaria in Papua cannot be achieved only through ordinary activities.
"There must be extraordinary movements, starting from case finding by cadres, including in schools and communities," he remarked.
The Malaria Eradication Month National Movement and the Gebrak Siamal program were implemented by the ministry by involving all parties, from the regional governments, communities, to cadres in primary health facilities, through the signing of an agreement to eradicate malaria.
All cadres are tasked with guiding the community to prevent malaria by cleaning mosquito breeding places at all residential areas.
In addition, the Ministry of Health initiated the Stop Open Defecation Movement in all districts in Papua.
"Sanitation greatly affects malaria prevention," he stated.
The ministry also distributed insecticide-treated mosquito nets in areas where there are still many Anopheles mosquitoes that cause malaria.
"Nationally, the target is malaria eradication by 2030. However, especially in Papua, we accelerate it to 2027 to achieve (malaria) eradication and fully stop open defecation," Rondonuwu remarked.
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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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