"Expanding the coverage of early detection (has been carried out) through screening activities down to the posyandu level in RTs/RWs (neighborhoods)," director of non-communicable disease prevention and control at the ministry, Eva Susanti, said.
She made the statement at the 2023 World Heart Day press conference, which was broadcast on the Ministry of Health's YouTube channel on Thursday.
According to her, the early detection expansion has involved poyandu cadres carrying out house-to-house visits targeting 273.5 million citizens.
Susanti further said that her ministry has involved 7,230 community health centers (puskesmas) in sub-districts and Prime Posyandus—village-level posyandus—in 85 thousand villages.
"We are also preparing a supporting program by training 1.5 million posyandu cadres, training general practitioners and nurses to use electrocardiograms and automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to check heart function," she informed.
The early detection of cardiovascular diseases in Indonesia this year has so far only covered 30.6 million of the targeted 140 million participants, she said.
The free health screenings conducted under the early detection services include checks for blood pressure and blood sugar as well as body mass index measurements.
"Women's abdominal circumference should not be more than 80 centimeters and 90 cm for men because obesity is a risk factor for heart disease. Including active smokers further examinations will be carried out in the form of lung health screening," she added.
She further said that for women aged 30–40 years, the health screenings also cover breast and cervical cancer.
"Currently, the highest screening (achievement) is in 15–29 years (age bracket), with around 8 million people," she informed.
Meanwhile, the province that recorded the highest screening achievement is West Nusa Tenggara at 48 percent, she said.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), CVDs are the leading cause of death globally, accounting for an estimated 17.9 million deaths per year.
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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Raka Adji
Editor: Sri Haryati
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