The 1st issue of Health Messenger Indonesia is out !

The 1st issue of Health Messenger Indonesia is out !

For several years, AMI has published magazines of continuous medical training for the local health agents, they are called: Health Messenger (the Messenger of Health).

The number one of Health Messenger Indonesia was out recently (the first copies were received on December 21st 2005). It is distributed at 5000 bilingual copies(English and Indonesian) in the zones of Medan, Meulaboh, and Banda-Aceh, this issue talks about the topic of the mental health.

If Health Messenger Indonesia falls under the programs of International Medical aid, it is also a working tool for all the local health agents of the area of Aceh. It enables them to look further into regularly various medical and psychosocial topics and holds account of the actual context of the area.

The concept of Health Messenger was created by the team of AMI Afghanistan located in Peshawar in the purpose of forming a network of insulated health agents. The first issue of Health Messenger Afghan (entitled Salamati, meaning good health in Indian millet) is published in 1993.It is the 1st born one of a family which will keep increasing thereafter. The idea will be taken by the AMI mission in 1995, for the Burmese refugees and the local health agents.Ten years later, during the summer 2005, the Thailand publishing was increasing to work with the design of first Health Messenger Kids, magazines intended for the children from ages 6 to 9, and Health Messenger Junior, for the young people from 10 to 15 years.In 1999, an edition in local language (khmère) was born in the provinces of the North-West of Kampuchea Since February 2004, the "Ponleu Sokha Peap" association takes care of the edition and the publication of Health Messenger Kampuchea

This 64 pages bilingual magazine - Pembawa Pesan Kesehatan /P2K, in Bahasa Indonesia - is produced by a team of professionals and deals with local health topics. The first issue (December 2005 – 5,000 copies) focused on “Mental health”, the second one (8,000 copies) deals with “Communicable diseases: control and response”, a major health concern in Aceh but also in the world.

In the aftermath of the tsunami (26 Dec 04), medical professionals were preoccupied with Measles, Cholera, TB, Polio, etc., due to the high risk of potential outbreaks. Preventive actions such as immunization and public awareness campaigns were set up and an emergency disease surveillance system were established. One year later, despite significant improvements in the general situation it is important to continue the work of developing routine and sustainable public health programs.

HM aims to be a support for AMI’s programs in Aceh, but its main task is to serve as a training tool for all local health agents in NAD and to have a regular, in-depth look at health and psychosocial and medical themes.

Enabling different actors (WHO, PHO, international and local NGOs, health workers) in the health field to express themselves in its articles, HM aims to be a place of exchange and encounters. Through sharing knowledge and placing diverse medical practices side by side, HM hopes to contribute to debate and bring a pluralistic view on medical and public health know-how, in order to improve our accounting of needs and our approach to them.

This second issue is the offspring of a partnership that AMI has initiated and coordinated by collecting information from different health agents, willing to participate in this adventure: International Rescue Committee (IRC), MENTOR Initiative, Médicos del Mundo, and AMI. All the articles have been proofread by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Provincial Health Office (PHO, Dinas Kesehata Propinsi).

HM is distributed by AMI and to and by local and international NGOs, international institutions, UN agencies and Indonesian Health authorities in Banda Aceh, Aceh Besar, Aceh Jaya, Aceh Barat, Aceh Tengah, Bener Meriah, Gayoluwes, Aceh Tenggara, Aceh Nagan Raya, Aceh Barat Daya, Aceh Selatan, Aceh Singkil, Aceh Tamiang, Aceh Timur, Langsa, Lhokseumawe, Bireun, Pidie. A questionnaire is included in this issue and surveys on the form and content of the magazine will be regularly carried out in order to answer to the specific needs of our readers. The third issue on “Maternal health” will be out next July.

Julie Chansel, Publication manager indonesia.hm@amifrance.org