The World Health Organization (WHO) noted that Indonesia ranks second in the world after India in the number of Tuberculosis (TB) cases. Indonesia contributes around 10% of the total global TB cases. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia (Kemenkes RI) also published data showing that Indonesia has a very high prevalence of TB and it is the biggest health problem in Indonesia.
Island regions are vulnerable with their limited access to information and health services. With this problem as a background, the Community Service Team of Universitas Indonesia (UI) from the Faculty of Pharmacy (FF) carried out a community service program in Pulau Panggang Village, Seribu Islands, last February. The activity titled “Pengembangan Media Edukasi Penyakit Tuberkulosis dan Pengobatannya di Desa Pulau Panggang, Kepulauan Seribu” (Development of Educational Media for Tuberculosis Disease and Its Treatment in Pulau Panggang Village, Seribu Islands) aims to educate the public regarding the prevention and treatment of Tuberculosis (TB) which is currently a significant public health problem in Indonesia.
According to the Head of the UI Community Service Program Team, apt. Nisa Maria, M.Farm., TB is recorded as one of the ten highest diseases on Panggang Island. To prevent and reduce the number of these diseases, the Community Service Team provides education related to TB, its causes, symptoms, and the importance of proper treatment to prevent the spread of this disease. In addition, this program provides community health access through free health checks.
“This activity began with counseling about TB and how to treat it, followed by a question and answer session between participants and the UI Community Service Team. After the counseling, a free health check was carried out which included checking blood pressure, hemoglobin (Hb) levels, cholesterol, uric acid, and blood sugar,” said apt. Nisa.
This community service activity was led by the FFUI Research and Community Service Manager, Prof. Dr. apt. Anton Bahtiar, M.S., and involved FFUI lecturers, namely apt. Indri Yuliani, M.Farm. Klin .; apt. Annisa Lazuardi Larasati, M.Farm.; Prof. apt. Retnosari Andrajati, M.S., Ph.D .; and Dr. apt. Febrina Amelia Saputri, M.Farm. The FFUI student team was also involved, including apt. Munawar Satria; Anhar Muflih, S.Farm.; Haqqi Islami Syafi’i, S.Farm.; Bealda Khairunnisa; Nathalia Graciella Anastacia; Aliyya Hanaa Naila; and Luis Jerycho.
Prof. Anton said that this activity was an important initial step in efforts to provide health education to the community in Pulau Panggang Village. Through this community service program, he hopes that FFUI can make a positive contribution to improving public health, especially in the prevention and treatment of TB.
The event, which was held at the Pulau Panggang Village Office, was attended by hundreds of participants. The first 50 participants who took part in the health check-up received healthy food and gifts in the form of stationery, milk, and multivitamins.
The Secretary of Pulau Panggang Village, Nur Alim, M.KM, said that this program is very beneficial for the community because it can help residents understand their health conditions and how to prevent and treat TB earlier. “We really appreciate FFUI’s efforts in providing free education and health services. In the future, we hope that activities like this can be continued so that residents can continue to benefit,” Nur said.
