TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Presidential candidate Anies Baswedan highlighted the importance of Indonesia promoting cross-sector collaboration to deal with health issues at home during the fifth presidential debate on Sunday.

Speaking at the final debate organized by the General Elections Commission (KPU) in Jakarta, Anies observed that Indonesian health facilities have been mainly focused on curative actions.

"The responsibility to deal with health issues should not fall solely on the Health Ministry and health offices. It should be noted that unhealthy lifedata-styles have been one of the most significant contributors to health problems," he remarked at the Jakarta Convention Center.

Anies emphasized the importance of parties from different sectors taking part in paying attention to health issues in the hopes of balancing the use of promotional, preventive, and curative actions.

The former Jakarta Governor noted that he had implemented comprehensive ways to improve health quality in the capital city, including by creating clean water sources for islanders in the north, developing parks, providing bicycle lanes, constructing sidewalks, and organizing sports festivals.

"Cross-sector efforts are vital to ensure that the budget provided is used not only by health offices but also by relevant stakeholders to promote promotional and preventive measures," he pointed out.

The KPU organized the fifth debate to conclude a series of presidential and vice presidential debates that began in December last year. Sunday's debate carried the themes of education, health, manpower, culture, information technology, social welfare, and inclusion.

Three pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates are aiming for the country's top spots in the election, namely Anies Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar, Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka, and Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud MD.

Indonesia will hold the 2024 general elections on February 14. The political campaigning period started on November 28, 2023, and will conclude on February 10.

ANTARA

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