Primary Medical Care Progress Report

May 17, 2023

The Primary Medical Care (PMC) program has made a remarkable difference in the rural communities of East Sumba, providing over a thousand treatments that offer critical medical assistance to those in need. Through their unwavering dedication and hard work, the women of the region have been empowered to take control of the health and welfare of their ultra-rural communities. By providing them with the essential knowledge, resources, and tools, we have successfully equipped them to face all the socio-medical challenges that come their way. Over nearly five months, Fair Future and Kawan Baik, our partners, all participants, and teams collaborated to go above and beyond in reaching the most challenging areas and evaluating the impact of the field program. The results are awe-inspiring, leaving no doubt that the Primary Medical Care program is the definitive solution to ensure everyone can access emergency medical assistance. - Thank you for your interest.

Access to medical care in remote areas is a significant challenge when doctors and health centers are scarce. Fortunately, an innovative medical care program mobilizes non-professionals to provide care and medicine to those most need it. The impact of the PMC program is truly remarkable for the children and the adults who receive care. Witnessing the difference this program makes in the lives of those it serves is genuinely impressive.

During the first months of 2023, more than a thousand cases were treated by the health workers of the PMC Primary Medical Care program. There are more than sixty health workers (Kawan Sehat agents) in Sumba Timur. Please feel free to browse through the album we have uploaded. It includes various galleries featuring images captured by the program’s agents.

These “Kawan Sehat” health workers are teachers who work in small schools in their villages, isolated from everything and mostly without roads. They are all extraordinary women, as we like to repeat as much as possible. The medical care they provide in sometimes extreme conditions is remarkable in every way. These women save lives in extraordinary situations through their work while no healthcare center or doctors are present. Check out their impressive work in this photo gallery! These photos were taken by the Kawan Sehat agents themselves, even in some pretty harsh conditions.

Rugged terrain, long walking distances, and a lack of appropriate transport infrastructure often characterize these remote areas. These remote villages lack health professionals (as they usually prefer to work in urban or more developed areas). These regions also lack infrastructure and other necessary health resources such as medical centers, medical equipment, drugs, and other medical equipment. Sometimes the nearest medical center is abandoned, like the one in Tana Mbanas in Sumba Central.

This is why we have set up this PMC program through nursing and medical care training: How a non-professional can take care of an illness and injury quickly to prevent the patient’s health from worsening.

Technology plays a crucial role in solving health problems in remote areas. A working group on WahtsApp has been implemented to bridge the gap between patients and healthcare providers. Every two hours, we receive new images. The health worker in the village often acts alone and can – if necessary – ask questions. Our medical teams respond remotely immediately.

Our mobile clinic (the Truck of Life) and outreach programs are essential to provide health care or medical equipment to the more than sixty Kawan Sehat agents in remote communities.

Fair Future and Kawan Baik Indonesia firmly believe that everyone deserves access to medical care and, if possible, quality, wherever they are. Our unwavering commitment to ensuring everyone can live a healthy and happy life is at the forefront of everything we do in this PMC program.

In conclusion, improving access to medical care in remote areas where doctors and health centers are limited or absent requires an innovative and original, multi-faceted approach involving technology, infrastructure development, training of non-health professionals, and perhaps most importantly, a collaboration between NGOs, communities, and local authorities.

Through the collaborative efforts of our socio-medical partners and the Fair Future Foundation, we have successfully overcome challenges and provided access to essential health services and -primary medical care- for those residing in remote areas. Our joint commitment and dedication have proven that this feat is possible.

We greatly appreciate your support in the early stages of the PMC program’s implementation in the field. Your contribution has enabled the program to achieve sustainable development and progress. Currently, Kawan Sehat health workers are successfully operating in ten out of the possible twenty-two districts.

Alexandre Wettstein from the Foundation’s Medico-Social Camp in East Sumba, Rumah Kambera, Lambanapu, on May 17th, 2023.

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