HEALTH CARE

Monkey pox cases have been on the rise in Indonesia. The Health Ministry (Kemenkes) confirmed that the majority of the patients are residents of Jakarta.

World Mental Health Day is commemorated on 10 October each year. This year’s theme, “Mental Health is Universal Human Right”, emphasizes that mental health is a basic and universal human right, no exception. Anyone must be able to obtain the best or highest mental health service that they can achieve or work on. No specific mental condition is grounds for denying access to any mental health service that a person may need, or for denying a person’s rightful freedom and independence to determine the kind of mental health service they undertake. 

The eyes are windows to the world. They are necessary for us to function properly in daily living, even though the hard of seeing and the blind can still compensate for the troubles that lack of sight cause them. Therefore, it is not surprising that we commemorate World Sight Day on the second Thursday of October every year. This year, the theme “Love Your Eyes at Work” is meant to remind us that we need to preserve the health and functioning of our eyes if we want to maintain our productivity at work.

Exercise is one of the best ways to maintain one’s health and fitness, but if it is monotonous and unpleasant it can lead to boredom and people giving up. Currently, various sports equipment adopting the latest technology has been created to provide convenience so that exercise can be more fun, varied and can be done at home, the office or your favorite gym.

Leucorrhea, or vaginal discharge, is actually a normal functioning of the female body. It is a normal protective mechanism of the vagina against infections, i.e. by increasing the acidity (lowering the pH) of the vaginal mucous area, compared to other parts of the body. However, it may also serve as a warning symptom of cervical cancer or other abnormal conditions. 

Per 1 September 2023, the recorded number of the National Health Insurance-Indonesian Health Card (JKN-KIS) Program beneficiaries was 262.74 million people, or 94.6% of the total population. Indonesia is expected to be able to achieve universal health coverage by next year. As the administrator of JKN-KIS, Prof. dr. Ali Ghufron Mukti, MSc., Ph.D, President Director of the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan), declared that the Agency continues to expand its health facility cooperative network. 

According to International Diabetes Federation 2020 data, 10.5% of adults worldwide are diabetic, and 81% of them live in low-middle-income countries. We expect a 51% increase of the number of diabetics in 2045 worldwide, from 463 million diabetics in 2019 to 700 million by that time, with 152 million of them located in Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, Indonesia has 19.47 million diabetics in 2021, with 236,711 deaths from the disease in that year. 

According to 2022 data from the Ministry of Health, 143,000 cases of dengue fever cases were recorded throughout the year, with 39% of sufferers being in the 15-44-year-old range. Up to the 33rd week of 2023, there were 57,884 cases recorded with 422 deaths, or a case fatality rate (CFR) of 0.73%. Dengue fever, just like malaria and zika, are persistent tropical diseases whose incidence rate stubbornly remains at 20- 50 cases per 100,000 population level. 

Until the present, it has been difficult for lay people to differentiate between myoma and adenomyosis, solid tumors in the uterus that cause vaginal bleeding and pain that interferes with normal routines, apart from triggering fertility problems. Both myoma and adenomyosis are influenced by hormones, are prone to recurrence, and generally heal when a woman enters menopause. Both cause bleeding and sometimes patients need blood transfusions, but myoma and adenomyosis reveal fundamental differences. 

Following the ratification of Law on Health Number 17 of 2023 on July 11, 2023, the government is preparing to draft derivative regulations for its implementation. This was carried out openly and transparently, involving the widest possible public participation. Public Hearing of the Draft Government Regulation (Rancangan Peraturan Pemerintah-RPP) concerning Implementing Regulations of the Health Law, is the government’s effort to fulfill the public’s right to be heard, the public’s right to have their opinions considered, and the public’s right to receive an explanation of the substance of the RPP. 

The hair is our natural crown. Like all parts of the body, it dies and regenerates every day, and that is the cause of falling hair. Even though it is a natural occurrence, people tend to get worried if their hair begins to fall out, especially in large patches. There is a real need to be concerned about balding when excessive hair loss occurs.