Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Screening: Provinces with the Highest Number of Screenings in 2023

The Director of Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases at the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes), Eva Susanti, revealed that only 30.6 million Indonesian citizens had undergone risk factor screening for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as of September 23, 2023.

"National NCD screening results show a figure of only 16.4%," she stated in an online press conference on Monday (September 25, 2023).

Based on provinces, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) had the highest number of NCD screenings, with a proportion of 48% of the national total.

Banten province ranked second with an NCD screening achievement of 39.2%, followed by Gorontalo in third place with a proportion of 34.8%.

Provinces with the lowest NCD screening rates were Papua at 2.2%, followed by Yogyakarta Special Region and Bali with proportions of 6.8% and 6.9% respectively.

Eva explained that the screenings conducted by the Kemenkes included blood sugar, blood pressure, hypertension, diabetes, waist circumference, and central obesity screenings.

To expand the scope of early detection, the Kemenkes is implementing screening activities in the lowest level of health service facilities (fasyankes).

"Such as in community health centers (puskesmas) spread across 7,230 sub-districts, Posyandu Prima in 85,000 villages/districts, posyandu spread across 300,000 hamlets/RT/RW, and home visits to a total of 273.5 million people," Eva explained.

Other supporting programs to succeed in early detection include training programs for 1.5 million posyandu cadres, as well as training for general practitioners and nurses in the use of electrocardiographs (ECGs) and Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs).

The Kemenkes is also providing a number of health tools to support early detection in community health centers and expanding the National Health Insurance (JKN) benefit package for 14 priority disease screenings.

"Equity in access and quality of health is also carried out through a referral system. This will ensure services are available at all levels of care," Eva clarified.

(See also: Deaths Due to Non-Communicable Diseases Most Frequently Found in Indonesia)