The Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) together with the Ministry of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions (Kemendes PDT) officially forged a strategic partnership through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This collaboration is designed to strengthen the development and empowerment of village communities, with a primary focus on equitable access and improving the quality of primary healthcare services down to the hamlet level.
Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, emphasized that the state's presence in providing healthcare services in remote areas is a national priority. According to him, the healthcare approach is no longer merely focused on treatment, but must rely on preventive efforts and healthy lifestyle changes at the grass-roots level. Currently, the government has optimized a network covering more than 10,000 Puskesmas (community health centers) and hundreds of thousands of Posyandu (integrated health posts) driven by 1.5 million health cadres.
In its implementation, the role of village governments is considered crucial for the success of national priority programs, such as Free Health Checks (CKG), accelerating the reduction of stunting rates, and controlling tuberculosis. Through this synergy, village officials are expected to play a more active role in mobilizing the community to participate in these various health initiatives.
Echoing this sentiment, Minister of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions, Yandri Susanto, stated that health is an inseparable pillar of village development. Given Indonesia's geographical conditions spanning more than 75,000 villages, this collaboration is seen as a strategic step to provide affirmative action for disadvantaged villages that still require special attention in fulfilling basic health infrastructure.
The government is now starting to encourage the use of Village Funds to be more effective and targeted in supporting the health sector, especially for stunting prevention programs. It is hoped that with this cross-ministerial synergy, the fund allocation can provide a more tangible and measurable impact on the welfare of rural communities.
