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In the year 2009 there were more than 43 percent of the populations living in urban areas in Indonesia. It is predicted this number will continue to rise by 60 percent in 2025. As a result, the city government faces big challenges. Meanwhile, the successes to tackle these challenges become critical factors for the sustainability of Indonesia in the future.
As said by Drs. Elvi Effendi, Apt.,M.Si when reading out the foreword of Yogyakarta Provincial Chief Health Officer, Dr. Bondan Agus Suryanto, SE, MA., in an inauguration ceremony of 34 new dentists on Monday (26/4), in the Margono Auditorium, Faculty of Dentistry Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM). To achieve this success, the government is expected to be able to overcome the problem of poverty in addition to economic growth. "Surveys in 2009 showed that two of the five cities in Indonesia are poor," he explained.
He also said that one of the major issues in urban environmental management due to the high level of urbanization is the problem of drinking water and sanitation. In Indonesia, the problem is indicated by the unsatisfactory access and quality of service. In fact, more than 100 million Indonesians still lack of access to safe drinking water supplies. "Meanwhile, more than 70 percent of 220 million Indonesians depend on contaminated water resources," he explained.
The Head of Yogyakarta Provincial Health Office further explained the five major health problems that cause deaths are still dominated by degenerative diseases. These diseases, including stroke, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, tuberculosis, and heart disease, frequently occur in urban areas. While in rural areas, the disease that dominates is stroke, tuberculosis, lower respiratory tract, and malignant tumors.
Certain lifestyles allegedly triggered the risk factors for these diseases, such as smoking and drinking behavior in addition to irregular physical activity, lack of exercise, and high fat and low fiber foods diet. "Likewise, environmental conditions such as air pollution and poor social conditions are obstructive to health. Therefore, although the new dentists are on the field of dental health, they are still expected to play a role to explain the various types of the diseases to the society. Especially those who work in field, which is at the forefront of health services, or in community health centers (Puskesmas)," he added.
Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Dr. drg. Iwa Sutardjo Rus Sudarso, SU, Sp.KGA (K), said that with the inauguration of the new dentists, UGM until now has yielded 3337 dentists, consisting of 934 men and 2403 women. The average time of study in this batch is 2 years 4 months, with the fastest being 2 years 22 days and the longest 6 years 22 days. "It seems that the number of female graduates still dominates. This comes along with the Kartini Day spirit that we recently commemorated," he said.