JakaraPost-June 16, 2025
The six provinces in the country’s easternmost region account for 90 percent of the national caseload, whereas nearly 80 percent of all regencies and cities across the country have been declared malaria-free. The government is focusing on Papua in its fight to eradicate malaria, recognizing that swift action is needed to reduce cases in the country’s easternmost region, which contributes more than 90 percent of the national burden of the mosquito-borne disease. Nearly 80 percent of all regencies and cities across the country have achieved malaria-free status. But the high burden of malaria in Papua makes the region a crucial factor in determining the success of malaria elimination efforts in the Asia-Pacific. Among the government’s efforts in its fight against malaria in Papua are detection new cases, patient treatment and mosquito population control. The integration of malaria detection into the Health Ministry’s free health checkup program is another measure to accelerate caseload reduction. “[This] integration will be a key entry point for identifying more malaria cases. People in highly endemic areas will be encouraged to undergo regular malaria screenings at local health facilities,” Ina Agustina Isturini, the ministry’s communicable diseases director, told a press briefing on Thursday in Jakarta. Ina added that the ministry would increase the number of health workers for testing and detecting active cases across Papua, as well as assist in the distribution of antimalarial drugs to patients. The government would also work with private firms on strengthening environmental management and controlling the populations of Anopheles mosquitoes that transmit malaria. The latest official data show that the Papua region has 503,120 total malaria cases, which accounts for 93 percent of the national figure. Central Papua has the highest caseload with 168,278, followed by Mimika regency with more than 161,402 cases, or 30 percent of all cases in the country. The region’s high caseload is among the key challenges in eliminating malaria in Indonesia. Others include a significant number of infections among migrant populations, poor implementation of the government’s One Health policy for environmental health and vector control and outbreaks in previously malaria-free areas. Read more at:
