"First of all, we provided the spirometer, so every puskesmas has it," Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin informed after attending the 2023 Model Health Worker Award ceremony.
A spirometer can help diagnose a number of lung problems caused by polluted air, such as asthma, tuberculosis, lung cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, he added.
The ministry will provide spirometers to all health centers in areas that are experiencing high air pollution.
According to him, the government has provided a budget of Rp10 trillion in response to the pollution issue.
Besides spirometers, the ministry has also prepared sanitary kits to protect the community's health.
"We have also prepared sanitary kits, so if the air is highly polluted, we will work together with civil society organizations to educate people on how to make the air better," he said.
Gunadi explained that his ministry's responsibility is to handle the effect of polluted air, not its cause since that is the duty of other ministries.
Based on IQAir data, the air quality index (AQI) in Jakarta is already in the unhealthy category, with Indonesia ranked second in the world in terms of poor air quality, with an AQI of 178.
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Translator: Yoanita Hastryka Djohan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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