Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin emphasized that routine health checks are an important part of preventing diseases from developing into more serious stages.
“Our target for 2026 is not just to conduct health checks, but to ensure that the community is truly healthy. Not only are the checkups free, but prevention and treatment are also free,” said Budi.
The CKG program is being strengthened by expanding services to various sectors, from healthcare facilities and schools to the workplace, making it easier for the public to access early health checks.
According to Budi, many diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, and heart problems, are often only discovered after the patient’s condition has worsened. Therefore, early detection is considered a crucial step to reduce the risk of complications.
“If detected early, treatment costs are cheaper and the chances of recovery are much higher,” he said.
Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture, Pratikno, stated that the government is currently pushing for a paradigm shift in healthcare services from curative to preventive.
He stated that the public needs to get used to regular health check-ups so that potential diseases can be detected early and treated before they become more severe.
“Prevention is more important than cure. This is part of the effort to detect illnesses, to detect them as early as possible,” Pratikno said.
In addition to expanding screening services, the government is ensuring that community screening results do not stop at the data collection stage, but are followed by medical assistance and treatment according to patient needs.
The Director General of Public Health at the Ministry of Health, Maria Endang Sumiwi, revealed that program evaluation results still found high cases of hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and dental health problems across various age groups.
This situation demonstrates the importance of expanding the culture of routine health check-ups in the community as part of strengthening the national health system.
“Early detection is crucial so that people can receive prompt treatment and avoid developing more serious illnesses,” said Maria Endang.
Coordination with local governments and health facilities is also being strengthened so that the implementation of the CKG can be more effective and reach the community evenly.
By strengthening this program, the government hopes to improve the quality of public health while simultaneously reducing the national healthcare cost burden in the long term. (*)