Yogyakarta to Host Health Conference

Yogyakarta is preparing to host a meeting of health ministers from 11 Asian countries who will discuss the most important health issues facing the region.

Convened by the World Health Organization, the 30th Meeting of Health Ministers of the Region will run Sept. 4-7. The forum will be a chance to exchange political, social and economic strategies from the point of view of the health sector.

"There will be many issues discussed during the event, especially the control of diseases, contagious or not," said Tjandra Yoga Aditama, the Health Ministry's director general for disease control and environmental health.

He said Indonesia exerted a major influence over the region's health sector, with other countries in Southeast Asia taking note and following its example. "Indonesia's voice is influential because we are the country with the largest population in SEARO," Tjandra said, referring to the Southeast Asian Regional Office of the WHO.

Other countries grouped in SEARO are Bangladesh, Bhutan, East Timor, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Some of the key issues expected to be discussed at the gathering are the eradication of polio, preparation for an influenza pandemic and routine immunizations.

The conference will also focus on regional health issues, and the strengthening of policies to overcome non-contagious diseases, which can still be deadly.

Indonesia continues to face many health problems, including a paltry 83 percent coverage for basic immunizations.

Tjandra said 100 percent coverage would be difficult to achieve because of the country's difficult geography as well as the rise of anti-immunization campaigns by groups pushing different agendas.

In 2011, 11.5 million children in the country were immunized against measles as part of an additional, non-routine immunization campaign.

The Health Ministry has set a target to have 100 percent of the population immunized against polio, measles, hepatitis B, tetanus and tuberculosis by 2014.

Indonesia is also struggling to overcome avian influenza, or bird flu.

Through the middle of August, 191 people in Indonesia have tested positive for avian influenza since 2005, with 159 deaths. These figures are the highest in the world where at least 300 people have died from the disease since 2005.

Another pressing health issue is the rise of non-contagious diseases like cancer, heart disease and diabetes, which now account for the largest number of deaths in Indonesia. The death rate from non-contagious diseases has risen from 41.7 percent in 1995 to 49.9 percent in 2001 and 59.5 percent in 2007.

Stroke remains the top killer, accounting for 15.4 percent of deaths, followed by hypertension, diabetes, cancer and chronic obstructive lung disease.

Deaths from these non-contagious disease are seen both in urban and rural areas around the country. (Thejakartaglobe.com)