inp.polri.go.id - Jakarta. The central and regional governments will monitor the achievement of the Tuberculosis (TB) control program throughout Indonesia, to ensure optimal progress in efforts to combat the disease.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the weekly monitoring aims to accelerate diagnosis and treatment, as well as increase the scope of the infectious disease control program.

"With regular monitoring between the central and regional governments, we can evaluate the steps that have been taken and ensure that TB handling is running effectively throughout the region," said the Minister of Health, Monday (9/12/24).

The weekly monitoring activity will involve all relevant stakeholders, including provincial and district-city health offices, hospitals, health centers, civil society organizations, and communities.

As an initial step, the government will intensify efforts to find TB cases, especially in high-risk groups such as people living in densely populated areas and those who have a history of close contact with TB patients.

"TB is better if it can be detected earlier. Now we have advanced treatment for the disease so we can treat it faster, and the person concerned can recover without infecting others," said the Minister of Health.

He said that case finding efforts would be combined with socialization and education to the public regarding the importance of examination if experiencing symptoms such as prolonged cough, fever, and weight loss in order to reduce the number of transmissions and deaths due to TB.

He hopes that intensive monitoring and good coordination between the center and regions can spur Indonesia to achieve the target of finding 1 million active TB cases by 2025, which is one of President Prabowo Subianto's priority programs.

(ad/ndt/pr/nm)