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Ministry Of Health Targets 50 Percent Of Health Centers To Serve Mental Health In 2025
Saturday, 14 Dec 2024
The Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) is actively working to enhance national mental health services through community health centers (puskesmas) in a phased manner. In the upcoming year, Kemenkes aims for 50 percent of puskesmas across Indonesia to offer mental health services. Imran Pambudi, the Director of Mental Health at Kemenkes, stated that currently, only about 40 percent of puskesmas provide such services, with distribution still uneven across the country.
"Therefore, the expectation is that there will be at least five puskesmas in each urban area capable of delivering mental health services," Imran remarked on Friday, December 13, 2024. Following the achievement of the 50 percent target by 2025, Kemenkes plans to raise this figure to 70 percent by 2026.
Imran noted that several challenges exist in reaching this target, one of which is the limited number of professionals, such as psychologists and psychiatrists. Approximately 60 to 70 percent of these professionals are concentrated in Jakarta, while some provinces have as few as one psychologist. To address this issue, Kemenkes is also working to enhance community capacity to serve as first responders through the Psychological First Aid initiative (P3LP).
P3LP, akin to first aid programs for medical issues, is expected to serve as an initial step in addressing everyday mental health concerns before patients receive professional care. Additionally, Kemenkes faces challenges regarding the availability of medications at puskesmas. Imran added that there are five essential medications that should be available, including haloperidol decanoate, a long-acting schizophrenia treatment. To ensure the availability of these medications, Kemenkes has sent a letter to health department heads across Indonesia, requesting them to allocate budgets for the procurement of necessary drugs. (deriz@insightinnews.com)
