ASCOBAT GANI PUBLIC HEALTH EXPERT
There is a serious need for community health nurses
Ascobat Gani's expertise requires him to travel to the country's remotest areas. He advises regional and local administrations on the management of mental health following the enactment of decentralization. What he found was shocking: mental health in most places he visited is a neglected problem. "We are too involved in global (health) issues, like infant and mother mortality," said Gani. Yet, according to a study he carried out in 2005, mental health cases constituted 13.8 percent of all illnesses in Indonesia. To properly address this problem, Gani-who is chair of the Rajiman Notodiningrat Psychiatric Hospital governing board in Malang, East Java-is of the opinion that health services throughout Indonesia must be made efficient. Tempo English contributor Amanda Siddharta interviewed Gani by telephone two weeks ago. Excerpts:
July 15, 2014
Ascobat Gani's expertise requires him to travel to the country's remotest areas. He advises regional and local administrations on the management of mental health following the enactment of decentralization. What he found was shocking: mental health in most places he visited is a neglected problem. "We are too involved in global (health) issues, like infant and mother mortality," said Gani. Yet, according to a study he carried out in 2005, mental heal
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