"Why is health important? Becasue even at a productive age, if people are not healthy, they will be unable to work," he explained at the launch of the Primary Health Services Integration and Health Development Planning Strengthening Program, which was followed online on Thursday.
Sadikin added that health needs to be nurtured from an early age so that as people grow up, they can become productive human resources capable of aiding Indonesia in escaping the middle-income trap.
During the middle-income phase, productive human resources must be Indonesia's most valuable asset for boosting gross domestic income (GDP) and ascending to the high-income country category, he emphasized.
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"If we fail to seize this window of opportunity, we will be letting down our children and grandchildren because they will spend their entire lives in a middle-income country," he said.
To achieve this goal, Sadikin stressed the importance of redefining the concept of health from an early age. He clarified that being healthy means more than just curing diseases. It also means maintaining one's body and staying healthy to prevent illnesses.
The minister underscored the importance of Indonesia having adult human resources with sufficient intellectual capabilities.
"And we must ensure that when they become adults, they are not so sick that they need to undergo dialysis in the hospital for three days a week, five to six hours a day. That would not be productive," he said.
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Translator: Sean Filo, Raka Adji
Editor: Anton Santoso
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