"The main challenge is that the fund allocation in regions is still low," the ministry's director general of disease prevention and control Maxi Rein Rondonuwu said at the “National Workshop in Commemoration of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) Day 2023” here on Monday.
According to him, his side has continued to strive for revisions in order to allocate additional budgets for the prevention of NTDs.
The Ministry of Health cannot implement the leprosy handling strategy alone, he added. Strengthening of advocacy and cross-sector coordination is needed.
"The Ministry of Health is not (able to go it) alone. It needs support, especially for the handling of leprosy. To this end, we are still expecting the strengthening of advocacy, the cross-program and cross-sector coordination," he said.
Indonesia is one of the countries with the highest cases of leprosy besides Brazil and India.
According to Rondonuwu, leprosy cases have still been found or not yet eliminated in 7 provinces and 118 districts and cities.
"Which means that the prevalence is still more than one in 10,000 population," he added.
On a separate occasion, the ministry's Director of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Imran Pambudi, stated that, in order to tackle leprosy in Indonesia, the ministry is encouraging early case detection and treatment of leprosy to achieve zero leprosy cases target.
The ministry is also providing accurate information to reduce stigma, discrimination, and hoaxes related to leprosy. Then, the ministry is also striving to make management efforts as early as possible, such as diagnosis, treatment, and treatment monitoring, including in the provision of medical treatment for people with disabilities.
In addition, the ministry is also providing leprosy-prevention drugs to people or those who have had close contact with leprosy patients, or chemoprophylaxis.
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Translator: Anita Permata, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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