MALARIA PERDHAKI, Sorong – To anticipate malaria outbreaks, the Persatuan Karya Dharma Kesehatan Indonesia (Perdhaki), a community-based health unit under the Sub Sub Recipient Elisabeth Makbusun Clinic, accompanied by the Mayamuk Health Center, conducted a mosquito larvae awareness campaign in Arar Village, Mayamuk District, Sorong Regency, West Papua, on Saturday, October 16, 2021. Cahya Irmalia, one of the program managers of the Sub Sub Recipient Elisabeth Makbusun Clinic, stated that this socialization was carried out in areas still marked as red zones for malaria cases. Currently, Arar Village has a Community-Based Health Unit (UKBM) cadre to provide education on mosquito larvae prevention, while Perdhaki and the health center act as facilitators. She explained that Perdhaki enters a region based on recommendations from the local health office, especially if the area still has malaria cases. Arar Village receives special attention because it is still in the red zone.

“After a long period without any cases, we heard of a new one, so our focus now is on detecting mosquito larvae to prevent them from developing into adult mosquitoes,” she emphasized. The Community-Based Health Efforts (UKBM) in Sorong Regency consist of four units: UKBM Arar (Arar, under Mayamuk Community Health Center), UKBM Wasinsang (covering Wasinsang and Sakarum Villages, under Seget Health Center), UKBM Dulbatan (serving Masmaspop and Kotlol Villages, under South Salawati Health Center), and UKBM Malaworsai (for Malaworsai and Selowok Villages, under Mega Health Center). She also added that in 2020, UKBM Dulbatan originally targeted two villages: Dulbatan and Payaupop. However, since no positive cases were found from late 2020 until April 2021, the targets were shifted to Masmaspop and Kotlol Villages. As of August 2021, Arar Village had recorded two positive cases detected by UKBM, while in Sorong City, UKBM identified 75 positive cases.

In addition, the team also visited the Mega Community Health Center (Puskesmas Mega) in Sorong Regency, located in Selowok and Malowoksai Villages, to review the malaria program which is part of the UKBM (Community-Based Health Efforts) target villages. Currently, UKBM has also extended its presence to Soop Island, including the Batu Dua and Tanjung Ampu areas, while Village Malaria Workers (Juru Malaria Desa or JMD) operate in Sorong City and Fak-Fak. According to Cahya, the main factor behind the occurrence of malaria cases is the presence of mosquito larvae in water storage containers. Therefore, UKBM Arar is being used as a model for other UKBM programs under the supervision of SSR Klinik Elisabeth Makbusun in handling malaria. In other UKBM units managed by SSR Klinik Elisabeth Makbusun, target location shifts had occurred, prompting them to restart malaria education efforts and strengthen new cadres.

Meanwhile, the malaria coordinator from the Mayamuk Community Health Center (Puskesmas Mayamuk), Rosdiana, stated that every week, the Village Maternity Post (Polindes) regularly submits malaria reports. “From what I’ve observed in Kampung Arar, there were no malaria cases because reports were submitted weekly. However, a few months later we heard of one case, so we came to investigate. In Arar, all facilities are already complete. If there’s a suspected case, they immediately respond and are always on standby to conduct blood tests,” Rosdiana explained.

She expressed hope that the residents of Arar Village would remain disciplined in maintaining cleanliness and continue cleaning their water storage tanks at least once a week to prevent the growth of mosquito larvae. As a model village, Arar is expected to inspire surrounding communities in implementing effective malaria prevention strategies. In addition, the Head of Arar Village in the Mayamuk District, Nurdin Rumuar, expressed his appreciation for the outreach efforts carried out by the Perdhaki team and the Mayamuk Health Center (Puskesmas Mayamuk). These activities included inspecting every water tank across neighborhood units (RT) to detect mosquito larvae. He emphasized that this initiative is a vital preventive measure to protect Arar Village—also known as “Desa Cantik Arar” or “Beautiful Arar Village”—from malaria.

This news was previously published by Sorong News. Link: https://sorongnews.com/kampung-arar-jadi-percontohan-penanganan-malaria-terbaik-versi-ssr-elisabeth/