Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) officially appointed Dr. Fatwa Sari Tetra Dewi, MD, from the UGM Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing (FK-KMK UGM) as a professor of health promotion and non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention on Tuesday, Apr. 1, 2025, at the UGM Senate Hall.
In her inaugural speech titled “Our Health, Everyone’s Contribution: Innovation and Collaboration in Non-Communicable Disease Prevention,”
Professor Dewi emphasized that non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cancer, account for 73 percent of total deaths in Indonesia.
She identified unhealthy lifestyle habits, including smoking, poor diet, lack of physical activity, stress, and alcohol consumption, as the main risk factors that continue to rise.
Currently, 34.2% of Indonesian adults are smokers, 21.8% are obese, and only 66.5% meet the World Health Organization (WHO)’s recommended level of physical activity.
“Delayed treatment seeking leads to late-stage detection of many NCD cases,” she explained.
She noted that advances in digital technology have opened up significant opportunities for NCD prevention and management, such as fitness apps, online consultations, and nutrition education.
However, she also highlighted new risks brought by digitalization, including easy access to unhealthy food, sedentary lifestyles, and stress from information overload.
She argued that the separation between physical and mental health results in fragmented health services. Therefore, a holistic approach is essential to make NCD prevention more effective.
Unlike infectious disease control, which focuses on breaking the chain of transmission, NCD control is more effective when it prioritizes promotive and preventive efforts over curative and rehabilitative care.
“NCDs develop gradually from mostly controllable risk factors. On the other hand, curative approaches are more expensive and often not curative. If preventive efforts are neglected, the economic burden on health will rise, and patients’ quality of life will decline,” she elaborated.
Professor Dewi stressed that the government cannot tackle NCDs alone but must engage communities as drivers of change. She emphasized that NCDs are closely tied to lifestyle, which is essentially an individual choice.
“The government’s role as a facilitator is crucial in encouraging behavior change by providing regulations, funding, and infrastructure while still giving communities the space to creatively shape their own healthy behaviors,” she stated.
She reiterated that digital technology allows for massive and efficient NCD promotion and prevention. Numerous innovations, including social media, health apps, wearable devices, telemedicine, big data, and artificial intelligence, are now being used to improve the effectiveness of NCD campaigns.
Unfortunately, these digital solutions still face access gaps, particularly among remote or low-income communities, due to limited internet access and device ownership.
She concluded that strong leadership, cross-sector collaboration, and sustainable funding drive community-based NCD control programs.
She pointed to Indonesia’s successful COVID-19 response and Thailand’s effective NCD control as evidence of what is possible with coordinated efforts.
Author: Agung Nugroho
Post-editor: Lintang Andwyna
Photographer: Donnie