Therefore, he is committed to expanding public education to identify and address more TB cases.
"I want to work harder and help more next year. If possible, we should detect 1.5 million cases. Why not? Because as long as the bacteria exist, it will continue to spread," he said during a meeting with the media on Friday.
Currently, Indonesia’s TB case notification rate stands at 55 percent of the target of 1,090,000 cases.
However, treatment adherence among TB patients has exceeded 85 percent. What remains to be done, he emphasized, is strengthening education and awareness to boost active case finding.
Indonesia ranks second in the world for TB cases, Paulus said. He added that TB is a communicable disease that can also affect other organs, such as the eyes, breasts, brain, skin, and liver.
These factors drive the government to make TB elimination one of its top health priorities.
In the past, drug-resistant TB treatment took up to 24 months, he noted. However, advances in medical technology have made therapy more effective, reducing treatment duration to just six months.
The Health Ministry is also collaborating with dr. Erlina Burhan, a national TB vaccine researcher from the University of Indonesia, to develop a treatment regimen that could shorten therapy to only three or four months.
“This way, patients won’t have to take the medication for too long. Because if treatment takes too long, people tend to lose motivation and stop,” he explained.
Paulus stressed that tackling TB requires collaboration across sectors, as the issue extends to social and economic aspects.
For instance, cooperation with the Ministry of Manpower is needed to educate companies about TB, he said. A patient with drug-sensitive TB needs between two weeks and one month of treatment to eliminate the bacteria.
“By understanding how the treatment works, companies will not immediately dismiss employees diagnosed with TB but instead provide support and understanding,” he added.
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Reporter: Mecca Yumna Ning Prisie
Editor: Primayanti
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