One day in the village of Lapinu to assess the primary medical care program in one of Indonesia’s poorest, inaccessible and isolated villages.
Primary Medical Care – PMC: A vital and necessary medical program, which we introduced more than four months ago (15.12.2022), is a fundamental human success. About 1000 suffering people, children injured or suffering from malaria, have been cared for and treated successfully by the health workers we trained.
Hello everyone from Rumah Kambera, Sumba Timur,
As we presented some of our last articles -here in Mbinudita, here in Mbatapuhu and here in Kabanda–, the last week of March is the first week of April 2023; our teams went to five ultra-rural villages to evaluate the PMC (Primary Medical Care program) in favour of communities and villagers. During his visits, we also introduced the blood pressure monitoring program to people at risk of high blood pressure. You can read the article about it by clicking here on this link.
The five rural villages we visited for almost a week are among the most remote and isolated in the region and Indonesia. The five villages seen or revisited are Mbinudita, Mbatapuhu, Kabanda, Mahu and Lapinu. These are villages that are categorized as being “in pain”. That are places where people don’t eat and drink enough and can’t wash and care for themselves because they don’t have enough water. Here people live with less than 2 litres of water per person daily to do everything.
These villages lack access to electricity, water or direct medical care; we often discuss it. On average, the nearest health centre is more than three hours away from all dwelling houses with a motorized vehicle. For these few reasons in particular, we have introduced -with our medical friends and social partners- the primary medical care program for regions and populations from the ultra-rural areas in east Indonesia. As part of this article, we will show you and explain what we did in Lapinu:
And as we did in the village of Mbinudita and Mabatapuhu, and Kabanda, we gave new prerogatives to these two Kawan Sehat Agents: Since April, here in this village of Lapinu, Rambu Guru Katrina can now measure the blood pressure of a patient, and in the case of hypertension, give appropriate medical treatment. It is a social and medical revolution, in our opinion. You can read more about this program here.
A word from Fair Future Medical Officer here in East Sumba
It is excellent news that women from ultra-rural areas provide primary medical care to all who need it. Rural regions of Sumba are underserved regarding health care, and having people who can give first aid on-site makes a big difference to local communities.
These women who provide this primary medical care can help prevent disease, treat diseases such as malaria, diarrhoea, and Dengue Fever and provide appropriate treatment. This contributes to reducing mortality rates and improving the quality of life of people living in these villages isolated from everything and everyone in rural areas.
It is also important to note that these women participating in the PMC program have acquired unique knowledge in health care, which can be particularly useful for women and children in the region. For example, women are often more comfortable discussing reproductive health issues, which can help promote sexual and reproductive health in rural communities. We experienced this directly during a PMC program evaluation day in April 2023.
In short, the women who provide primary medical care in ultra-rural areas in these thirty-five villages in twelve districts of Sumba Timur are valuable assets to their communities. It is essential to recognize and support their extraordinary work, to ensure that rural areas have access to quality primary medical care.
Alexandre Wettstein from the Foundation’s Medico-Social Camp in East Sumba, Rumah Kambera, Lambanapu, on April 27th, 2023.
