We are working to develop a new cancer registry, adaptive treatment protocols and train more healthcare professionals to provide better care for children with cancer in Indonesia.
5,000 Children
250 New
Programme Information
Programme
Centre
Dr Sardjito Hospital
Yogyakarta
Twinning
Centre
Programme
Leads
Professor Sutaryo, Dr. Pudjo Hagung Widjayanto, Dr. Sri Mulatsih, Dr. Eddy Supriyadi, Dr. Mei Neni Sitaresmi
Twinning
Leads
Contact
Start Date
Program
Center
RS Hasan Sadikin Hospital
Bandung
Twinning
Centre
Program
Lead
Dr. Nur Melani Sari
Twinning
Leads
Dr. Gertjan Kaspers, Dr. Judith `Spijkerman
Contact
Start Date
2022
Background
Indonesia has a population of circa 264,000,000 with about 30% of the population aged between 0-14. Approximately 60% of all Indonesians live on Java, one of the five biggest islands in this country. The Dr Sardjito Hospital is an academic hospital and the tertiary care referral hospital for the region, and also receives referrals from its neighbouring provinces. All children with cancer in the Yogyakarta province are referred to this hospital along with many of the patients from the surrounding provinces.
As childhood cancer is not a top priority for the Indonesian Government, the management and care for children is very limited with almost no form of a cancer control programme, limited diagnostic tools and few nationally recognised protocols for the treatment of childhood cancers.
Key Activities
Training for healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses and administrators on the provision of children’s palliative care.
Campaigns and awareness raising materials on palliative care for professionals and the public.
Regular contact with ministers and policymakers and advocacy for integration of palliative care into National Health Policies.
A consistent supply of palliative care medicines. Service provision through model centres for children’s palliative care to improve the quality of life for children and families and mentor newly developed services.
Provision of community-led palliative care in an urban slum in Dhaka
Key Activities
- We are supporting the development of more diagnostic tools.
- Workshop are implementing workshops to develop new, adaptive treatment protocols.
- Through our twinning partnership we are training local healthcare professionals on the early warning signs of childhood cancer.
- We are also raising awareness of childhood cancer amongst parents in rural communities.
Problems
- Limited number of healthcare professionals with adequate training and experience.
- Large numbers of families abandoning treatment.
- Limited facilities to care for childhood cancer.
- Lack of awareness amongst healthcare professionals and communities around childhood cancer symptoms and potential curability.
- Little or no accommodation facilities for families staying at hospital.
- Families living on limited income cannot afford to pay for treatment or even travel to hospital.
