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The community's role
A dengue fever outbreak in Jakarta that has killed 44 people over the past four months has been declared an "extraordinary occurrence" by Governor Sutiyoso. According to the Jakarta Health Agency, eight people died from dengue fever in January, 20 in February, 12 in March and four so far in April.
South Jakarta has registered the most fatalities with 15, while 10 people have died in East Jakarta.
Residents of Jakarta have become depressingly familiar with dengue, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, as there are outbreaks of the disease almost every year.
It is common knowledge that dengue usually strikes in the first months of the year.
Yet, despite this knowledge, the necessary measures were not taken ahead of time to minimize the impact of the disease. Both the city administration and residents are guilty of ignoring dengue until it was too late, underlining the national tendency to wait until something has occurred before acting.
The city has responded to this latest outbreak with fumigation, which on its own is not enough to kill the aedes Aegypti mosquitoes that spread dengue.
Governor Sutiyoso has acknowledged the administration does not have the budget to eradicate dengue. So, with the administration falling short of money to fight the fatal disease, who should residents turn to for help?
Most residents are familiar with the security concept hankamrata, which requires all layers of society to pitch in and protect their neighborhoods and cities.
In a similar vein, unable to rely on the government, all of the different communities in the capital must join together to fight deadly diseases such as dengue.
Indonesian society has adopted a special structure of administration.
The lowest level of this structure is the neighborhood community, led by a Ketua RT.
A group of neighborhood communities is led by a Ketua RW. The system is already in place, it's just of matter of mobilizing the community to respond to emergencies like disease outbreaks.
As in other large cities across the world, the people of Jakarta have developed something of a reputation for selfishness. But when it comes to security, neighbors usually cling to each other for protection and defense.
So why don't the neighborhood communities revive this spirit to combat dengue? Many wives of Jakarta's subdistrict chiefs have set a good example by getting involved in dengue eradication efforts and helping to monitor their neighborhoods to ensure a clean and healthy environment.
Neighborhood chiefs must stay alert in order to mobilize the community when needed. Religious leaders should also be involved in this effort.
The first and simplest thing communities can do to fight dengue fever is go door-to-door to collect money to pay for fumigation and insecticides to kill the mosquito larvae.
Neighborhoods cannot depend on leadership from city officials in taking the necessary steps to anticipate the arrival of dengue.
Jakartans must remember the importance of working together in facing all situations, especially an outbreak of a dangerous disease, and unite in protecting themselves and their city.
However, this does not mean the city administration can simply wash its hands of its responsibility to protect residents.
The city must do more to ensure a healthy environment for residents, free from disease-carrying mosquitoes.
Dengue outbreaks are annual occurrences. It is about time city officials and residents learned from the past and took action to stop the disease before more unnecessary deaths.
South Jakarta has registered the most fatalities with 15, while 10 people have died in East Jakarta.
Residents of Jakarta have become depressingly familiar with dengue, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, as there are outbreaks of the disease almost every year.
It is common knowledge that dengue usually strikes in the first months of the year.
Yet, despite this knowledge, the necessary measures were not taken ahead of time to minimize the impact of the disease. Both the city administration and residents are guilty of ignoring dengue until it was too late, underlining the national tendency to wait until something has occurred before acting.
The city has responded to this latest outbreak with fumigation, which on its own is not enough to kill the aedes Aegypti mosquitoes that spread dengue.
Governor Sutiyoso has acknowledged the administration does not have the budget to eradicate dengue. So, with the administration falling short of money to fight the fatal disease, who should residents turn to for help?
Most residents are familiar with the security concept hankamrata, which requires all layers of society to pitch in and protect their neighborhoods and cities.
In a similar vein, unable to rely on the government, all of the different communities in the capital must join together to fight deadly diseases such as dengue.
Indonesian society has adopted a special structure of administration.
The lowest level of this structure is the neighborhood community, led by a Ketua RT.
A group of neighborhood communities is led by a Ketua RW. The system is already in place, it's just of matter of mobilizing the community to respond to emergencies like disease outbreaks.
As in other large cities across the world, the people of Jakarta have developed something of a reputation for selfishness. But when it comes to security, neighbors usually cling to each other for protection and defense.
So why don't the neighborhood communities revive this spirit to combat dengue? Many wives of Jakarta's subdistrict chiefs have set a good example by getting involved in dengue eradication efforts and helping to monitor their neighborhoods to ensure a clean and healthy environment.
Neighborhood chiefs must stay alert in order to mobilize the community when needed. Religious leaders should also be involved in this effort.
The first and simplest thing communities can do to fight dengue fever is go door-to-door to collect money to pay for fumigation and insecticides to kill the mosquito larvae.
Neighborhoods cannot depend on leadership from city officials in taking the necessary steps to anticipate the arrival of dengue.
Jakartans must remember the importance of working together in facing all situations, especially an outbreak of a dangerous disease, and unite in protecting themselves and their city.
However, this does not mean the city administration can simply wash its hands of its responsibility to protect residents.
The city must do more to ensure a healthy environment for residents, free from disease-carrying mosquitoes.
Dengue outbreaks are annual occurrences. It is about time city officials and residents learned from the past and took action to stop the disease before more unnecessary deaths.
