From the field in East Sumba. Medical care, clean water, prevention and community health where access remains difficult.
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Health & Medical Program
Kawan Sehat Agents
Trained women and men providing first-line care, prevention, follow-up and early referral inside their own remote communities.
- 27 active health agents
- 700 to 1,000 patients supported each month
- Medicines and supplies restocked every two months
Care begins with someone the village already knows
When a child develops a fever or a wound begins to worsen, the first safe decision often happens at home. Kawan Sehat agents bring trained observation, basic care and a clear referral pathway into communities where formal services remain hours away.
The programme
Local knowledge, structured clinical responsibility
In an isolated village, proximity matters. So do training, clinical limits and the ability to recognise when a patient needs more than community care.
In Lahiru, Desiana brings practical health education into Posyandu care, discussing prevention with children and adults.
Kawan Sehat agents live in or close to the communities they serve. They know the paths, families, languages and practical barriers that shape a patient’s decision to seek care. This trust makes earlier contact possible, but trust alone is not enough. Their work is organised through defined protocols, medical supervision and documented follow-up.
They are not doctors and they do not replace public health centres. They provide approved first-line care, health education and practical support while recognising danger signs and connecting patients to a higher level of care.
Women and men trained to serve communities where routine care remains difficult to reach.
Assessment, approved treatment, prevention, follow-up and referral delivered through the programme.
A 150-page field manual structures knowledge, clinical limits, prevention and safe decisions.
Medicines, dressings and basic diagnostic supplies are reviewed and replenished in the field.
From first contact to follow-up
How an agent supports a patient
The agent’s role is not simply to hand out medicine. Each contact must lead from careful listening to a proportionate decision, a written record and a plan for what happens next.
Listen
The agent hears what has changed, how long it has lasted and what the family has already tried.
Assess
Symptoms, temperature, available vital signs and visible danger signs are checked within the agent’s training.
Decide safely
Approved first-line care is given when appropriate. Severe, uncertain or worsening cases are referred.
Document
Findings, care and referral information are recorded so the next clinical decision begins with evidence.
Return
The agent checks progress, reinforces prevention and contacts the medical team when recovery is not following the expected course.
Clinical boundaries matter
Close enough to act, trained to know the limit
Proximity becomes useful only when it is safe. Kawan Sehat agents work within defined protocols and refer whenever severity, uncertainty or missing resources make local care inappropriate.
What agents can do
- Listen, observe and assess common symptoms and available vital signs
- Clean and dress superficial, uncomplicated wounds
- Provide protocol-approved first-line medicines and oral rehydration
- Support uncomplicated fever, respiratory, skin and digestive complaints
- Monitor children, older people and patients living with chronic conditions
- Teach hygiene, nutrition, malaria, tuberculosis, HIV and infection prevention
When agents refer
- Breathing difficulty, altered consciousness, shock or severe dehydration
- Suspected sepsis, severe infection or rapidly worsening illness
- Major trauma, deep wounds, burns or suspected fracture
- Pregnancy complications or danger signs in a mother or newborn
- Possible tuberculosis, leprosy, HIV or another condition requiring testing
- Any situation beyond available skills, protocols, medicines or diagnostic capacity
Mira studies a reusable HIV prevention and testing poster during Kawan Sehat training in East Sumba. The material is designed to be carried back into villages and used in local health education.
The system behind each agent
Training turns proximity into safe action
Community knowledge makes contact possible. Structured training makes that contact clinically useful. Agents learn through practical modules, supervised exercises, case review and repeated field support. Their tools are designed for places where connectivity, transport and formal services are limited.
Field manual
Fourteen modules across 150 pages cover first-line care, prevention, danger signs and responsible limits.
Supervised practice
Training, case discussion and field visits help translate written protocols into safer decisions.
Medical backpack
Approved medicines, dressings, basic diagnostics and education materials are organised for home visits.
Kawan Sehat app
Offline and online records support follow-up, review and a clearer picture of health needs across villages.
What changes in practice
A trained neighbour can shorten a dangerous delay
A recognisable first contact
Families can speak with someone they know before distance, cost or uncertainty turns a treatable problem into an emergency.
Earlier clinical warning
Changes in consciousness, breathing, hydration, infection or pregnancy can be recognised and referred sooner.
Prevention in local language
Health education happens during visits, in schools and inside homes, connected to the risks people meet each day.
Records connect visits
Documented findings and follow-up allow the medical team to review decisions and identify recurring problems.
Programme reportPrimary Medical Care: 2024 reportRead the activities, field results and lessons from the programme that supports the agents.
Care systemPrimary Medical CareSee how agents, medical supervision, medicines, referral and prevention work as one field system.
Field toolsDigital tools for rural careUnderstand how offline records support case documentation, follow-up and programme evidence.
PeopleWho are the Kawan Sehat?Meet the women and men who carry care, prevention and practical knowledge into their villages.
Live field recordField Notes from Eastern IndonesiaFollow short, dated updates from training, home visits, medical outreach and prevention work.
Field guide & glossaryHealth and care, explainedExplore clinical terms and practical guides grounded in work inside remote communities.
Medical referencePrimary health careRead the international framework connecting accessible care, prevention and community participation.
Live from the field
Kawan Sehat Field Notes, as the work happens
Two recent signals involving community agents, home care, prevention or training. These notes refresh when a relevant Field Note is published.
Directly from the field
Latest Kawan Sehat reports
These reports document home visits, clinical training, prevention, medicine supply, patient follow-up and the limits agents meet inside remote villages.
Kawan Sehat health Agent day in Lahiru village Indonesia
In Lahiru, Kawan Sehat health workers Sarlota and Yosef wake with the sun, walk steep paths for water, farm the hillsides and open their house as a small clinic. This film lets you follow their routine of cooking, washing, treating fevers and wounds so neighbors in a remote village can stay on their feet.
Who are the Kawan Sehat health agents?
In this article you finally discover who are Kawan Sehat health agents, not as numbers but as people. Through portraits and short testimonies they explain who they are, where they live, the patients they care for and why they chose to become the first line of medical care in remote East Sumba hills every day.
Erwin’s Journey Bringing Care
Erwin, the Field Coordinator of the Primary Medical Care programme, spends days crossing muddy roads, broken bridges, and steep trails to deliver medicines to Kawan Sehat agents. His work keeps remote East Sumba villages connected to lifesaving care, dignity, and trusted medical support.
Kawan Sehat Health Training
In May, 21 Kawan Sehat health agents completed intensive training in primary care. They now serve nearly 1,000 patients each month in remote Indonesian villages, offering medical treatment, prevention, and education where no doctors are available.
Ibu Anggi receives her certificate
This new photo of the day shows Erwin delivering a Kawan Sehat certificate to Ibu Anggi in Laindatang. It’s not just a document, but a symbol of her essential role in healthcare delivery where there are no doctors.
Kawan Sehat Training in East Sumba Villages
In May 2025, Kawan Sehat agents completed a powerful three-day training in East Sumba, boosting their medical skills, restocking kits, and preparing to treat hundreds in ultra-rural areas.
Medical Backpack That Saves Lives
In East Sumba, women carry life-saving care on their backs. These medical backpacks contain over 50 essential items and are central to Fair Future’s Primary Medical Care program. A tool of autonomy and survival.
Medical Logistics in Rural Indonesia
Erwin prepares life-saving medical kits for health agents working in villages without doctors, pharmacies, or roads. Logistics becomes a vital part of healthcare for thousands in East Sumba.
Rural doctor shortage solution initiatives
Our foundation addresses the severe shortage of doctors in rural Indonesia through a multifaceted approach that includes training local health agents, upgrading infrastructure, and implementing solutions to alleviate the doctor scarcity, ultimately improving access to medical care.
Mira a Health Agent Saving Lives in Rural Villages
Mira serves as a Kawan Sehat health agent, delivering medical care to thousands in remote villages. Armed with essential medical supplies, she addresses injuries, manages illnesses, and educates families on improving their health practices—ensuring that healthcare reaches those who need it most.
Support Life-Saving Primary Care in Rural Indonesia
Today, Fair Future transferred 23,529 Swiss francs to fund the second quarter of the Primary Medical Care program in Indonesia. This life-saving initiative still needs support for its final quarter. Thank you for making this possible, and we encourage you to donate to keep this vital work alive.
Kawan Sehat: Humanity Through Rural Healthcare
Kawan Sehat health agents treated hundreds of patients—children, elderly, and the injured—throughout the holiday season as part of the #PrimaryMedicalCare program. Their dedication never paused. Visit our site to see the latest photos of their remarkable work. Thank you for your ongoing support!
Accountability
Community care must remain trained, supervised and reviewable
Trust is essential, but it cannot replace evidence. We document care, referrals, medicines, training, follow-up and field limitations. Cases can be reviewed, supplies can be traced and unsafe practices must be corrected.
