Indonesia observes World Malaria Day in Bali, highlights 5 provinces that have yet to eradicate the disease

Did you know that five Indonesian provinces have yet to declare themselves Malaria-free? This important fact was highlighted during the observance of this year’s World Malaria Day in Indonesia, which took place today in Bali.

Bali is one of 29 provinces which have been declared malaria-free, but the battle is still ongoing in Papua, West Papua, Maluku, North Maluku and East Nusa Tenggara. Perhaps not-so-shockingly, 79% of the country’s malaria cases take place in underdeveloped Papua, according to the Health Ministry.

Terdapat disparitas kasus kejadian malaria antara wilayah timur Indonesia terutama Provinsi Papua dengan wilayah lainnya, yaitu sebanyak 79 % kasus berasal dari Provinsi Papua

— Kemenkes RI (@KemenkesRI) May 13, 2019

“There’s a disparity in malaria cases between eastern Indonesia especially Papua province with other regions, where 79% of cases come from Papua province,” the Health Ministry said in a tweet.

The event, organized by the Health Ministry, saw heads of provincial governments from across the country in attendance, including Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan, West Java governor Ridwan Kamil and Bali governor I Wayan Koster. Health Minister Nina F Moeloek and Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo also attended the event.

“To all the provincial governments who have received a certification of (Malaria) elimination, you must strive to maintain that status,” Tjahjo said during the event, as quoted by Merdeka.

Across the globe, World Malaria Day is observed on April 25. This year, the World Health Organization highlighted how, despite steady advances in fighting malaria for more than a decade, that progress has now levelled off.

The Indonesian government says it aims to eradicate malaria across the country by 2030, but Monday’s event saw representatives of seven provincial governments (though none from the five provinces still struggling with the disease) making commitments to eradicate malaria at a provincial level by 2020 and allocate funds to maintaining the malaria-free status of those that have already eliminated the disease in their respective regions, according to a report by Tempo.