Jakarta, February 1, 2023
The Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) Working Group has contributed to the successful handling of COVID-19. Indonesian Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin asked RCCE to also help support other disease communications.
"I would like to thank my friends (Pokja RCCE) who have helped Indonesia since COVID-19 was identified in March 2020. Alhamdulillah, thanks to all of our cooperation, we can handle the pandemic well," said Minister of Health Budi after giving an award to RCCE, Wednesday (1/2) in Jakarta.
Health problems in Indonesia cannot be solved by one ministry/agency. According to him, the health problem is too big if it is solved alone exclusively. "It will definitely not work," he said.
"We must work together, we must be inclusive, we must listen to the opinions of other parties. We must embrace all elements if we want to succeed," said Minister Budi.
The Minister said that the involvement of the RCCE Working Group should not stop after COVID-19 is under control. There are still many other health problems that must also be addressed.
The Minister of Health gave an example of one disease, such as diabetes. Diabetes is dangerous, if left unchecked, it can affect other health conditions such as the heart and kidneys.
"It mostly attacks the kidneys. People have to go on dialysis, and if they go on dialysis, they have to go to the hospital every week and it takes hours to go on dialysis. It is certain that the quality of life is very poor," said Minister Budi.
The most appropriate way to overcome diabetes is to educate everyone to care more about their health and change their lifestyle. The RCCE Working Group can take part in communicating this to the public. Its implementation will be coordinated by the Ministry of Health through the Directorate General of Public Health.
The RCCE Working Group is a working group formed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This working group plays a role in ensuring that the public gets the right information to protect themselves from the dangers of COVID-19 amid the rampant circulation of hoaxes and misinformation.
In addition, this Working Group also plays a role in coordinating and facilitating communication collaboration for the COVID-19 response carried out by various institutions at the national and regional levels, advocating for policies for the handling of COVID-19 that are fair and inclusive, providing input on communication strategies and key messages formulated by the government so that they can be well understood and widely disseminated through various communication channels and community engagement activities in the field, and ensuring that there is a community feedback mechanism for a quality, fair and inclusive COVID-19 response.
The RCCE Working Group consists of various institutions at the national and regional levels, including elements of the government, civil society organizations, media, private sector, youth organizations, religious organizations, to academics and practitioners. The participation of each element in this Pokja is organic, voluntary, and non-binding. Each party is free to express opinions and make contributions in accordance with their fields of expertise and resources.
Thus, the involvement of RCCE is also expected to help in overcoming other health problems in Indonesia.
This news was broadcast by the Bureau of Communication and Public Services, Ministry of Health RI. For further information, please contact Halo Kemenkes hotline number 1500-567, SMS 081281562620, facsimile (021) 5223002, 52921669, and email address [email protected] (D2).
Head of Bureau of Communication and Public Service
dr. Siti Nadia Tarmizi, M.Epid
[ROKOM/QQ/VJY]
