Arlina Arshad – He used to be secured in wooden stocks, but he managed to break free of them. They have since been replaced with the iron chains.

Suherdjoko – Almost 25 percent of the people of Central Java still defecate in the open, especially in rivers, putting them at greater risk of contracting water-borne diseases, a health official sa

There are 48 pregnancies in every 1,000 teenage girls across Indonesia, which is slightly above the government's target for the issue, the latest data from the National Population and Family Planni

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Indonesia has attained significant improvement in terms of public nutrition, although challenges remain, with only nine cities and regencies recording no nutrition pro

Jewel Topsfield, Jakarta – Almost 19,000 mentally ill Indonesians are still being shackled or locked up in a confined place – sometimes for years – despite a 1977 ban on the practice, according to

Flori Geong, Wamena, Indonesia – When nurse Geno Wetipo first visited Samenage in Indonesia's Papua province in December 2013, she recalled seeing thin-limbed children with distended bellies.

Nurul Fitri Ramadhani, Jakarta – Women's groups requested on Wednesday that the House of Representatives refrain from implementing a total ban on alcoholic drinks, arguing that such a ban would go

Arientha Primanita, Jakarta – A controversial bill on alcohol prohibition poses a serious threat to public health and safety as it will lead to rising consumption of illegal alcohol, like the oplos

Jakarta – University of Indonesia (UI) public health expert Hasbullah Thabrany threw down the gauntlet to the government on Thursday, demanding that it amend existing tobacco excise provisions in a

Jakarta – Counterfeit alcohol and moonshine has killed dozens of Indonesians already this year showing a failure in public health response, a study from the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies has

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Efforts to combat chronic and widespread malnutrition have started to bear fruit as the percentage of children under five who suffer from stunted growth experienced th

Jakarta – When the police started investigating a number of abortion clinics in Cikini, Central Jakarta, the immediate question from local residents was: "Why only now?" as they had known about the

Paulina Quintso – The Director of the National Optical Centre (NOC) Belmeiro Jeronimo said the institution would not provide medical consultations and eye surgery in all municipalities because it d

Havana – The former President of Timor-Leste, Jose Manuel Ramos-Horta, said today in Havana that no other organization or group of people in the world deserves the Nobel Peace Prize as much as the

Anton Hermansyah, Jakarta – Before joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Indonesia might have to assess clauses in the pact that affect the government's capacity to provide affordable vital m

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb and Hotli Simanjuntak, Padang/Banda Aceh – Floods that have submerged a number of regions in Indonesia over the past week have begun to result in major health consequences for

Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – Eliminating the production and distribution of bootleg liquor, locally known as oplosan, in Yogyakarta will not be easy with law enforcers even expressing doubts abou

The alcohol industry has called on the House of Representatives to draft a bill that would become the legal basis to regulate the distribution of alcoholic beverages in society.

Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – Yogyakarta is the repository of Javanese culture, a famed center for intellectuals and students.

Surabaya – Former prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste (RDTL) Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao visited patients at the Indonesian hospital ship KRI Dr Soeharso (KRI SHS)-990, which is on

Surabaya, East Java – Indonesian navy warship KRI Dr. Soekarso (KRI SHS)-990 has arrived in Dili, Timor Leste, for a health service mission.

Jakarta – The National Commission on Tobacco Control has reported that there has been a dramatic increase over the past few years in the number of young smokers in the country.

Paulina Quintso – The Chief of the Department of Non-infectious Diseases, of the Ministry of Health, Dr Herculano Seixas do Santos has urged the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Environment (MCIA

Paulina Quintso – The Chief of the Department of Non-infectious Diseases, at the Ministry of Health, Dr Herculano Seixas do Santos said now the Tobacco Control Law has been approved by the Timorese

Callistasia Anggun Wijaya, Jakarta – Anti-tobacco activists joining with the Coalition against the Falsehood of the Cigarette Industry are calling on Industry Minister Saleh Husin to revoke a tobac

Arya Dipa, Bandung – West Java Police have expressed pessimism over the battle to effectively contain the distribution of oplosan (bootleg liquor) within its jurisdiction due to the absence of a re

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Entering its third year, the national health insurance (JKN) continues to be plagued with financial woes.

Venidora Oliveira – Member of the National Parliament MP Josefa Alvares Soares urged the President of the National Parliament to schedule the debate of a drug law for Timor-Leste to prevent its fut

Benny Mawel, Nduga – A scarcity of medical personnel in Indonesia's Papua province contributed to the mysterious deaths of 43 people, mostly children, in the Mbuwa area of Nduga distric

Ganug Nugroho Adi – A week after the world commemorated 'World AIDS day' on Dec 1, nine children living with HIV have been rejected from their new house in Surakarta, the home-town of P

Jakarta – More than 32,000 Indonesian women experienced unwanted pregnancies between 2010 and 2014, one of the highest figures among ASEAN countries, according to data from the World He

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – The government is gearing up to revitalize its family planning (KB) program after being dormant for more than a decade, starting with the launch of KB vill

Jakarta – The Jakarta AIDS Prevention Commission (KPAP) has circulated data showing that Jakarta recorded the highest number of new HIV cases in the country this year.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Indonesia is witnessing a growing rate of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections among adolescents, the most vulnerable population, a UN Asia Pacifi

Jakarta – The local administration of Luwu regency in South Sulawesi has banned the sale of condoms over concerns about teenagers having casual sex.

Indonesia's health ministry has apologised after a printing error led to a poster campaign claiming HIV can be transmitted through mosquito bites, swimming and sneezing.

Elly Burhaini Faizal, Seminyak, Bali – To protect women from unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions, a stronger regulatory framework is needed to ensure sufficient access to sexual and reproduct

Khoirul Amin, Jakarta – The government's decision to raise excise on tobacco products by only around 11 percent next year has sparked public outcry as it would contradict the nationwide anti smokin

Paulina Quintao – The Deputy Program Manager of International NGO Marie Stopes International Timor-Leste (MSITL) Juliao da Silva said that over 12,000 women so far have received Family Planning ser

Jakarta – The Social Security Management Agency (BPJS) should be stricter with employers whose payments to its health program are in arrears, a watchdog has said, in order to stop the agency fallin

Paulina Quintao – The Deputy Program Manager of Marie Stope's International Timor-Leste (MSITL) Julio da Silva said the NGO has established mobile clinic units across the municipalities of Timor-Le

Paulina Quintao – The Deputy Program Manager of Marie Stopes International Timor-Leste (MSITL), Juliao da Silva, said the MSITL team has been raising awareness to students in basic and secondary sc

Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta – Providing a conducive environment for the delivery of safe and legal abortions will prevent women from suffering complications from unsafe abortions, which are a maj

Jakarta – Facing fierce public criticism, the House of Representatives decided on Tuesday to drop articles endorsing kretek (clove cigarettes) in the current culture bill legislation.

Havana, Cuba – Having extended the Medical Program of the Family throughout East Timor by November 2016 is the aspiration of Rui Maria de Araujo, its Prime Minister, who takes the Cuban health syst

Hans Nicholas Jong, New York – Indonesia has pledged to support the Global Strategy for Women's, Children's and Adolescents' health, a global road map launched by the UN to end the preventable deat

The government is set to revitalize its family planning (KB) program as roughly 4.5 million new babies, equal to 85% of Singapore's population, are born in the country annually.

Jakarta – More than 140 million women worldwide have experienced female genital mutilation, but not everybody knows that many of them live in Indonesia, where over half of girls under 11 are subjec

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Indonesia's child mortality has declined substantially thanks to government and civil society interventions, a new global UNICEF report says.

Paulina Quintao – The National Director of Autonomous Service for Medicines and Medical Equipment (SAMES), Odete Maria Belo said it has run out of some medicines because it is the responsibility of