Prof. Dr. Ede Surya Darmawan, SKM., MDM., was inaugurated as a Permanent Professor in the Field of Health Development Administration, Faculty of Public Health (FKM), Universitas Indonesia (UI), on Wednesday, November 20, at Balai Sidang, UI Depok Campus. At the inauguration led by UI Rector, Prof. Ari Kuncoro, S.E., M.A., Ph.D., he delivered his inaugural speech titled “Tantangan Pembangunan Kesehatan dalam Menyongsong Bonus Demografi dan Indonesia Emas”(Challenges of Health Development in Welcoming the Demographic Bonus and Golden Indonesia) and became the 38th UI professor to be inaugurated in 2024.
In his speech, Prof. Ede said that the journey of health development in Indonesia has experienced significant development over the past few decades. Various main indicators, such as Life Expectancy (UHH), Infant Mortality Rate (AKB), and stunting prevalence, show an encouraging upward trend over time and various government efforts to improve public health.
Although there has been progress in the health sector, Prof. Ede said that Indonesia still faces a significant gap compared to developed countries and several neighboring countries in Southeast Asia. For example, Singapore has become a developed country and has a Life Expectancy (UHH) of 82.9 years in 2022, with an Infant Mortality Rate (AKB) of only 1.8 per 1,000 live births. Malaysia and Thailand, two other ASEAN countries, also showed better achievements, with UHH of 76.26 years and 79.68 years respectively, and a lower AKB than Indonesia.
Nevertheless, Prof. Ede said that Indonesia has entered a demographic bonus period since 2015, with its peak estimated to occur in 2020-2035. “This demographic bonus provides a great opportunity for Indonesia to accelerate economic growth, because of the high proportion of the productive age population that can contribute to economic activities. However, this opportunity is also accompanied by challenges,” said Prof. Ede.
He further said that there are two main challenges that are grouped into the Indonesian National Health System to optimize the demographic bonus. First, public health challenges, including epidemiological transition, unhealthy lifestyles, geographic disparities, and unequal access to health services.
Second, administrative and governance challenges, such as disharmonious planning, weak supervision, lack of digitalization, and lack of cross-sector synergy. “These two challenges must be addressed seriously to ensure that the health system can support quality human development,” said Prof. Ede.
To answer these challenges, Prof. Ede provided recommendations that have been prepared for both the community and the government. First, he recommended repositioning health development as the basis for developing intelligent, skilled and productive people. To this, he proposed a new definition of public health, namely “sebagai ilmu dan seni bagaimana negara memenuhi hak rakyatnya untuk hidup sehat dan berumur panjang” (as the science and art of how the state fulfills the rights of its people to live healthily and live long). On a smaller scale, the state as an institution can be gradual from the central government, provincial government, district/city government, village government to how the community and family strive to realize a healthy and long life.
“This definition offers a nuance of understanding public health not as an effort to serve individuals or individual affairs, but rather a comprehensive responsibility for improving the quality of life of every citizen throughout the human life cycle, even from before birth to old age,” said Prof. Ede.
The second recommendation is the transformation of the health system to create a healthy and empowered society. This transformation is illustrated in the form of a pyramid that shows how various elements of society contribute to each other in creating sustainable health. Starting from the individual level, which adopts a clean and healthy lifestyle, to the policy level, which is based on data and scientific evidence to support health for all.
“The demographic bonus is a golden opportunity that only comes once in the history of the nation. With the right approach, Indonesia can take advantage of this opportunity to create a healthy, productive, and highly competitive society. However, if health and governance challenges are ignored, great risks will lurk, hinder progress, and carry a heavy socio-economic burden. By making health the center of human development, the vision of Indonesia Emas 2045 can be realized in real terms,” said Prof. Ede.
Until now, Prof. Ede has been actively conducting various research and has been published in various national and international journals. Some of them include Behind the Hospital Ward: In-Hospital Mortality of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients in Indonesia (Analysis of National Health Insurance Claim Sample Data) (2024); Beyond the Plate: Uncovering Inequalities in Fruit and Vegetable Intake across Indonesian Districts (2023); and Hospital Nurses’ Risk of Injury: A Mixed Methods Study in Indonesia Pacific Rim International Journal of Nursing Research (2023).
The figure who is commonly known as Kang Ede, received an academic degree in Public Health in 1994 at FKM UI. Then, in 2000 he completed his Master’s in Development Management studies from the Asian Institute of Management, Philippines. Then, in 2011 he successfully obtained a Doctorate in Public Health at FKM UI.
