New Bridge Increases Access to Malaria Services in Remote Indonesian Village, IRIN News Reports

A new bridge in the remote village of Ngreco in Indonesia's East Java province has improved the community's access to health services, including malaria interventions, IRIN News reports. Before the construction of the bridge, malaria rates in Ngreco were higher than the national average. The village in 2006 received a government grant of $25,000 to build a concrete bridge to replace the previous hanging bridge. According to Wasi Prayitno, head of the task force for the project, the village inhabitants worked together for three months at reduced wages to complete the bridge. Haryono, the head of Ngreco, said the community gained several benefits from the construction of the bridge, including a reduced malaria incidence. Health workers could not access the village before the construction of the bridge, but now "health workers come and conduct spraying and distribute medicine," Haryono said, adding that the village also now has a clinic.

According to the World Health Organization, more than 90 million people in Indonesia live in malaria-endemic areas. IRIN News reports that the case of Ngreco demonstrates that the Indonesian government conceivably could achieve its goal of eliminating malaria in the country by 2030 if it increases efforts to improve access to health services in remote areas. Dave Jenkins, director of SurfAid International in Indonesia, said "access (by health workers) is one of the critical success factors" in reducing malaria in the country. He added that isolation is "the reason there's a high incidence in remote areas." According to Rita Kusriastuti, director of vector-borne diseases at the Ministry of Health, Indonesia has a "strong health infrastructure," with malaria control units in several districts and volunteers trained to provide malaria control services. However, "our volunteers can't conduct spraying and distribute [insecticide-treated nets] if they can't access the villages," Kusriastuti said.

According to Jenkins, effective malaria control programs require a combination of interventions. "Behavior change is key," he said, adding, "You can't just go into a village and dump [ITNs].You have to educate people in using them." In 2000, about 0.2% of children in Indonesia slept under ITNs, according to WHO. Jenkins said that an increase in ITN use would be "definitely an indicator of success" for a malaria control program. According to Kusriastuti, Indonesia is on track to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals' target of reversing the incidence of malaria by 2015 (IRIN News, 2/8).