Jakarta (ANTARA) - Mental health screenings of students under the Free Health Checkup (CKG) program must be followed up with interventions to address any identified issues, a member of Commission IX of the House of Representatives, Edy Wuryanto, said.

“If we just focus on the numbers on screening, without thinking ‘what’s next,’ then this program will become meaningless,” he explained in a statement received here on Friday.

He also highlighted the limited availability of mental health professionals at primary healthcare facilities. Hence, the government will need to train personnel at such facilities as well as health cadres so that they can detect mental health problems early.

According to Wuryanto, CKG for students will be effective if it helps build awareness on mental health issues among children, identifies mild to moderate symptoms for early intervention, and refers children with severe mental health problems so they can immediately access treatment.

He also stressed the need to promote mental health so as to prevent issues in the first place. This is urgent, given certain social dynamics among students, including bullying, he pointed out.

These dynamics can trigger conditions such as anxiety and depression, he noted.

“We can’t (sit around) until children suffer severely before taking action. Instead, early intervention can save their future because mental problems (affect) more than just behavior in this very moment,” he added.

These efforts to improve mental health cannot be compromised or pushed back, he stressed, since Indonesia wants to create a quality generation by 2045.

Students in the 7–18 age group will determine the continuity of the state in the coming two decades, he reminded.

“They have to be healthy, physically and mentally. Don’t just develop physical infrastructures, forgetting about the mental resilience of future generations,” he said.

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Translator: Tri Meilani Ameliya, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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