Ministry Prevents Death, Disability on Children Through Immunization

VIVA – The Ministry of Health stated that immunization is the right of Indonesian children because neglecting to vaccinate children can have adverse effects, such as death, disability and even polio cases that have started to appear in several regions in Indonesia.

Chairman of the Immunization Task Force of the Indonesian Pediatric Association (IDAI) Dr. Hartono Gunardi emphasized that immunization is actually the easiest way to prevent infectious diseases, such as polio and smallpox.

Unfortunately, the provision of immunization is often constrained by several things that have now triggered an outbreak.

"The polio outbreak in Aceh spread to Purwakarta. We need to be aware of this polio. One case in Purwakarta means there are 3.9 million toddlers who must be immunized in West Java. Polio is actually the second disease after smallpox that can be eradicated," Professor Gunardi stated in the framework of World Immunization Week 2023, GSK in collaboration with the Indonesian Ministry of Health, in Jakarta, on Monday. 

Director of Immunization Management at the Indonesian Ministry of Health, dr. Prima Yosephine MKM added that immunization coverage had decreased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, infectious diseases are even more widespread such as polio and smallpox which can endanger the lives of children of the younger generation.

"Immunization can be one of the efforts to reduce morbidity, mortality, and disability caused by diseases that can be prevented by vaccination," Yosephine stated. 

Yosephine also acknowledged that the increasingly controlled COVID-19 pandemic can be optimized to pursue other health activities, including child vaccination. 

Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has been lifted from emergency status, which means that people are gathering more frequently and the risk of disease is greater for children.

"Our homework due to the pandemic two years ago in 2020-2021 at the peak of COVID-19 must be resolved. Regarding immunization, many Indonesian children cannot get services," she said.

As previously reported, the national complete routine immunization coverage slowly increased again after the COVID-19 pandemic. Now around 94.9 percent of Indonesian children have been immunized. 

Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that currently the government continues to boost immunization coverage in all corners of Indonesia.

"Congratulations and thank you for successfully increasing immunization coverage again from 84% in 2019 to 94.9% in 2022. However, this is not enough," said the Minister of Health while attending the peak of the commemoration of World Immunization Week (PID) in 2023.