Photo: One of TSE’s medical vehicles in action. As part of the company clinic’s outreach program, cars are used to bring health services to isolated locations.
For some, statistics are just a bunch of numbers. But for us, they’re a representation of the lives we can save.
BOVEN DIGOEL – Through multiple health programs and clinic provision at each business unit, Tunas Sawa Erma (TSE) Group makes its contribution to raising awareness on maternal and infant health and reducing deaths of mothers and babies, especially of that near company areas.
One of these programs took place on Friday (5/5/2023), where the group’s subsidiary PT TSE held a short health class for Ujung Kia residents in Jair District. Company clinic staff dr. Inggrith shared with them teen pregnancy risks, which span from premature birth, low birth weight, to excessive bleeding during labor that may jeopardize both mother and child.
Classes like this are essential. Based on Statistics Indonesia data, Papua beat all 34 provinces in terms of infant mortality rate, with 38.17 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022.
Curbing these numbers will require systematic efforts, improvements in health quality and awareness-building activities, as well as expansion of facilities, medical staff, and healthcare access to all parts of the country.
During the lesson, dr. Inggrith didn’t forget to inform the audience of the family planning program, which is a government initiative to control birth rates and create a “high-quality” family.
Photo : At the clinic, a patient waits to go into labor
“We also talked about health issues. Hopefully the audience will get the benefits of this class,” said PT TSE PR Manager Rudy P. Pakpahan.
Lowering maternal and newborn deaths is also one of the priorities of Asiki Clinic, a free, accessible-to-all medical service provided by the company. This facility runs alongside TSE Group’s health education program.
Since 2015, the number of birth-giving patients who receive help from the clinic’s midwives has been showing growth, despite a drop at the outset of COVID-19. Meanwhile, pregnancy check-up figures fluctuate year by year, with the highest number at 137 people in 2017.
“The number of prenatal visits changes from time to time because of the pandemic, which kept expecting mothers from going out and to healthcare facilities,” explained clinic manager dr. Firman Jayawijaya.
Even so, TSE seems to have reaped results with the classes, checkup, and labor and delivery services — as infant deaths in the clinic shrank from five in 2015 to one in 2021, with zero incidents in 2019.
These achievements did not go unappreciated, but the company remains focused on its goals to repeat this success. One way it does this is by launching a “mobile healthcare service” that travels to 3T (remote, frontier, backward) (sub)villages to treat diseases, teach and promote healthy lifestyles, conduct antenatal checkups and vaccinations, and provide supplementary food for pregnant women, babies, and toddlers. (PR)
