Affordability Project breaks MURI record after conducting more than 11,000 health examinations in primary healthcare centers in remote and very remote areas

Jakarta (ANTARA) - More than 11,000 people underwent glucose screening tests and health checkups for non-communicable diseases, including diabetes, under the Affordability Project program. The program ran for three days in 46 remote and very remote healthcare centers in West Java. The total examination numbers broke the Indonesian World Records Museum (MURI) record as it surpassed the previous record of 7,725 health examinations.

This record-breaking health screening was the first to be achieved by a public-private partnership in the health category. The MURI record certificate is directly awarded to the Ministry of Health (MoH), the Danish Embassy in Indonesia, the Indonesian Endocrinology Association (PERKENI), and Novo Nordisk Indonesia.

The Affordability Project and the record-breaking activity was an example of great collaboration between the private sector and government in an attempt to improve diabetes treatment as well as to support the government minimum service standards health program. The health screening activity was aimed to diagnose and provide early intervention for non-communicable diseases, including diabetes, to prevent complications.

The MURI record was an added value to the goal of the Affordability Project, which seeks to provide access to diabetes treatment for people living in remote and very remote areas. The health screenings were conducted in 46 locations in West Java and the program was in line with the government’s efforts in transforming primary healthcare services.

Clinical, Medical, Regulatory, and Quality (CMRQ) Director Novo Nordisk Indonesia dr. Riyanny Meisha Tarliman said, “Access and affordability are the main services we want to offer to people with diabetes, wherever they live. With that in mind, we strongly support the basic health check program launched by the Ministry of Health, which seeks to check the risk factors of non-communicable diseases, including diabetes. With early detection, people with diabetes can receive early treatment to prevent complications. Through the activities under the Affordability Project program, we hope that together we can drive change in diabetes management in Indonesia.”

Currently, diabetes complications are the third largest cause of death in Indonesia. One of the factors is the lack of understanding of diabetes. In fact, 3 out of 4 people in Indonesia are unaware that they have diabetes. Therefore, Affordability Project comes in to support the primary healthcare centers in conducting regular health screenings.

The screening results serve as a reference to know if a person has risk factors for diabetes, or in the prediabetes stage, or has diabetes. People with prediabetes and diabetes will be referred to a consultation with healthcare practitioners in primary care facilities to get proper diabetes treatment, which includes anti-diabetic drugs.

The program is an implementation of government-to-government Memorandum of Understanding (G2G MoU) on health cooperation between Indonesia and Denmark which was signed last year. Novo Nordisk was appointed the strategic partner or the implementing partner in the agreement.

In addition to the health screenings in remote and very remote areas, the Affordability Project also features other activities that are in line with World Diabetes Day (WDD) 2021-2023 theme ‘Access to Diabetes Care’ and ‘Education to Protect Tomorrow’. As the main focus of the 2022 WDD, diabetes education is hoped to improve the lives of half a billion people living with diabetes across the globe.