Indonesia launches massive health screening for 136 million people

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia is launching a massive expansion of its free national health screening program, aiming to test 136 million citizens by the end of this year in a race to prevent a ticking time bomb of liver disease and cancer.

The aggressive push, announced by Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin, marks a near-doubling of the program’s 2025 target of 70 million people.

It comes amid a stark admission from the government: Indonesia is drastically lagging behind global health targets, having screened just a fraction of the population for lethal viruses like Hepatitis B and C.

“The (WHO) target is 90 percent, but currently only 10 percent has been achieved,” Sadikin said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The country’s treatment coverage is in an even more critical condition.

“The target is 80 percent for treatment, but perhaps only 5 percent, 3 percent, or even 1 percent has been achieved,” he added.

To bridge this gap, the Health Ministry is turning local community health centers (puskesmas) into advanced diagnostic hubs. The strategy hinges on catching liver damage before it turns fatal, shifting the focus from late-stage hospital care to early frontline intervention.

Under the new directives, general practitioners at the municipal level will undergo specialized training to detect early-stage various threats like fatty liver disease and fibrosis.

The ministry also plans to repurpose ultrasound machines already deployed at local clinics to conduct advanced radiological liver screenings.

The approach mirrors a previous national rollout that equipped 10,000 clinics with ECG machines to improve early detection of heart disease.

“If it is detected early, instead of waiting until cirrhosis, we can immediately provide treatment once fibrosis appears,” Budi said.

However, Indonesia currently faces the challenge of high prices for life-saving medicines.

He cited Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate (TDF), used for liver treatment, which costs around US$4.8 domestically—double the global price of US$2.4.

In addition, Daclatasvir (DAC) for Hepatitis C treatment costs about US$152 in Indonesia, compared to an international benchmark of just US$24.

Budi warned that the aggressive screening push will only succeed if the government can successfully negotiate lower drug prices.

By combining grassroots diagnostic expansion with international price alignment, Indonesia aims to fundamentally reshape its approach to preventive healthcare.