"President Prabowo Subianto is the first Indonesian president to have a priority program and is very ambitious in eradicating disease," she added at a virtual press conference on Thursday.
According to Laura, the CKG program is one of the largest health programs in the world, considering its ambitious target of covering 280 million Indonesians in five years, starting with 60 million people in the first year.
She said that CKG is not only meant to provide basic health services, but is a national priority program that is on par with major programs in other developed countries.
"This program has received budget support of almost US$300 million," she added.
She then compared Indonesia’s CKG program with programs in other countries, such as Japan, which provides annual routine health checks to workers.
Related news: Free Health Check-up program serves NCD-susceptible communities
Meanwhile, in England, a similar program covers citizens aged 40 to 74 years and is limited to the early detection of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and dementia.
However, in Indonesia, free health checks are offered to all Indonesian citizens, without any age restrictions, she noted, adding that they cover various diseases such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension, to dental and oral problems.
“Our program is even more progressive. In Indonesia, everyone can access the CKG without age restrictions or employment status. This reflects the justice and partisanship of the state toward all people,” Laura said.
She noted that the budget for the CKG program is considered a long-term investment that would help reduce the country’s economic burden due to non-communicable diseases, such as kidney failure.
These diseases are known to absorb more than Rp2 trillion (US$119 million) per year in state funds from the National Health Insurance (JKN) budget, she informed.
Related news: Minister targets 200 thousand schools for free health check in July
“Not to mention the costs arising from lost productivity due to premature death and disability, and the economic burden on families due to long-term medical treatment,” she added.
According to Laura, the active participation of local governments and first-level health facilities. such as community health centers, could help make the CKG an important foundation for building a healthy generation and achieving the Golden Indonesia 2045 vision.
Related news: Free Health Screening program records over 1 million registrants
Translator: Andi Firdaus, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2025
