inp.polri.go.id - Jakarta. Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin emphasized that his ministry is preparing special measures to reduce the newborn mortality rate from 30,000 to 20,000 per year.
The Minister emphasized that the main focus is strengthening services from the primary level to the referral level.
"We are conducting a pilot project. We will start in West Java first, because West Java has the highest mortality rate in terms of numbers," said the Minister of Health on Tuesday (8/19/2025).
He explained that three regencies in West Java, Bogor, Garut, and Bandung, are being piloted. This project involves midwives, community health centers, and hospitals to ensure a more streamlined and expedited referral process.
He emphasized that improving the quality of midwives is a key priority. Therefore, he continued, the Ministry of Health is collaborating with the Indonesian Midwives Association (IBI) to strengthen midwives' ability to perform normal deliveries and detect risks early.
"So, midwives are also divided into four-star, three-star, and two-star midwives. Four-star midwives are allowed to deliver (practice deliveries) themselves, three-star midwives are not allowed; they must be accompanied. Two-star midwives should not be allowed to give birth yet; they should learn first to reduce the mortality rate," explained the Minister of Health.
In this effort, he continued, the midwife network will also be integrated with community health centers, so that midwives can refer mothers and babies at risk to their obstetricians at the community health centers.
"The same applies to doctors; I will ask all community health centers doctors to train all pediatricians and obstetricians to identify risks early. So, if there is a risk, they should go to the hospital immediately," said the Minister of Health.
Another step, he said, is to increase antenatal care (ANC) checks.
In accordance with WHO recommendations, the Minister explained that the minimum check-up will be increased from six to eight. With more check-ups, he said, risks can be identified earlier and babies can be referred immediately if there are danger signs.
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