TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Malaria remains to be one of the many infectious diseases that spread in a number of Indonesian regions.

According to the Indonesian Health Ministry's website sehatnegeriku.kemkes.go.id, the country's malaria cases in 2021 amounted to 304,607 cases, which is, fortunately, a drop compared to 2009 which recorded 418,439 cases.

The Health Ministry is aiming to make Indonesia free from malaria by the year 2030 and in order to reach this goal, is planning to set five regional groups as its main priority, which consists of West Java and Bali, Sumatra, Sulawesi, and the West Nusa Tenggara, Maluku and the East Nusa Tenggara, and Papua and West Papua.

Acting Director of Disease Prevention and Control for the Health Ministry Dr. Tiffany Tiara Pakasi, said that in order to reach this target within the next eight years, efforts to intensify malaria countermeasures must be carried out in an integrated and thorough manner.

"The success of Malaria-Free Indonesia in 2030 is determined by the success of early detection of malaria cases in the community, especially cases in migrant populations. Detection of cases of migrant residents is related to authorities in the non-health sector," said Tiffany on Friday, April 22, 2022.

RISMA DAMAYANTI