An affirmative action member of the DPRK representing the Korowai Tribe, Ian Maruwo, has urged the local government and BPJS Kesehatan to immediately equalize membership services to remote areas. This step is considered crucial given the high demand among the Korowai people for affordable healthcare coverage.
Ian explained that there are currently around 2,000 people living across the Korowai region, with an estimated 200 to 300 heads of households. Dependence on air transportation remains the primary obstacle for residents in reaching health service centers in the regency capital, making access to routine treatment difficult, especially for malaria sufferers, which is still widespread in the area.
Furthermore, Ian emphasized that the shift in the Korowai people's lifestyle—from a hunter-gatherer background to settled living in settlements—must be accompanied by the readiness of health infrastructure. He also committed to continuously encouraging the government to permanently place medical personnel at the district level to shorten service distances.
Although they are now settling in district development areas, Ian stressed that cultural identity, such as the treehouse tradition, continues to be preserved as the Korowai Tribe's heritage. He reminded authorities that living in forest areas or owning traditional houses should not be used as an excuse to neglect the duty of fulfilling basic health rights for citizens.
As a concrete solution, Ian hopes that BPJS Kesehatan will assign representatives to district capitals to streamline administration and enrollment. This effort is expected to ease the burden of medical costs for the community while improving the standard of living for residents in remote areas long isolated by geographical challenges.
