Jakarta – Women's health in Indonesia continues to face complex challenges influenced by the interaction of biological, social, economic, and structural factors, as well as the shackles of patriarchal culture. Fundamental issues such as high maternal mortality rates, delayed disease diagnosis, low literacy rates, and discrimination against vulnerable groups continue to demand comprehensive solutions. In response to this urgent situation, the Deputy Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR RI), Lestari Moerdijat, emphasized the importance of fundamentally reversing the paradigm of health protection toward prevention.
"Policy prevention "Prevention seems to be due for attention. This automatically translates to a larger budget allocation. Data shows that healthcare costs, if focused on curative measures, are much higher," Lestari said.
This crucial issue was explored in depth through the 2026 National Women's Health Forum in a talk show session with the theme of Women's Health and Services on Wednesday (April 29) which was held both offline and online. Event attended by nearly 1000 participants concerned with women's health issues across Indonesia and gathered input from various stakeholders. Regarding improvements to the health facility system, the Director General of Primary and Community Health at the Ministry of Health, Maria Endang Sumiwi, stated that in the 2025-2029 RPJMN guidelines, the government is shifting from simply pursuing quantity of coverage to quality of service. Maria explained that monitoring of pregnant women is now targeted at the completeness of the 12T (12 Integrated Indicators) examinations, including infectious disease screening, to prevent maternal mortality and childbirth complications. This quality improvement was fully supported by the Chair of the Midwifery College, Gita Nirmalasari, who stated that midwives will continue to position themselves as women's allies, ready to provide essential support throughout their reproductive life cycle, from preconception to menopause.
Furthermore, in the first session of the talk show hosted by Evy Rachmawati, Kompas Daily Journalist, the discussion focused on women's empowerment and health, which is acknowledged to be more optimal with the active role of men. Co-founder Breastfeeding father Rahmat Hidayat highlighted the reality that parenting often doesn't prepare boys to be caring fathers, but rather simply to be breadwinners. Rahmat suggested that every husband transform into a family manager who actively discusses health decisions with his wife.
In the second talk show session, hosted by Senior News Anchor Wahyu Wiwoho, with the theme "Responsive and Equitable Policies," the issue of women's mental health also received sharp attention from experts. Psychiatrist Dr. Gina Anindyajati revealed distressing data that women dominate the number of patient visits due to mental health disorders. mood of its own. such as bipolar and depression.
"According to research, violence is a consistent determinant of mental health problems," he stressed.
Complementing this view, Amurwani Dwi Lestariningsih, Deputy for Gender Welfare at the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (Kemen PPPA), explained that women's vulnerability today is rooted in past social constructions and contracts that deliberately domesticated women, thus creating highly unequal power relations as a form of structural intervention and long-term prevention. Meanwhile, Assistant Representative United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Indonesia, Verania Andria, explained the importance of breaking the cycle of problems through educational institutions. Verania urged the inclusion of adolescent reproductive health education in the formal school curriculum to teach the principles of healthy gender relations and prevent sexual violence from an early age.
Efforts to strengthen women's rights also require reaching vulnerable groups who are often overlooked, namely people with disabilities. Mahreta Maha, a representative of the Indonesian Association of Women with Disabilities, revealed the alarming fact that only around 9% of women with disabilities currently have access to reproductive health services. She explained that the main obstacles are a lack of access to information, a lack of accommodating service facilities, and the persistent stigma of marginalization from society and medical personnel.
Moving forward, in this series of cross-sectoral forums, all speakers agreed to urge the elimination of all forms of discrimination and to strengthen real synergy between the state, civil society, health workers, and the family unit to fully realize women's health sovereignty. (Author: Fachrudin Ali, Editor: HDI Work Team)
