SELAMAT!
A Record of MediAccess's Field Research
in Lampung, Indonesia

In the rural villages of Lampung Timur, health facilities are far away, and barriers such as transportation and cost keep access to care low. Residents often cannot reach even basic treatment in time — including for conditions that are entirely treatable. MediAccess went to the field to help narrow this gap in care.

This field research was carried out to prepare for "Expanding Primary Healthcare Access through Strengthening the Kader–Posyandu System," a project under KOICA's Public-Private Partnership Incubating Program. We met residents in person, listened to them, and surveyed their health concerns to identify the genuine healthcare needs of this region.

MediAccess worked with Mardi Waluyo Hospital in Kota Metro and with local expert Missionary Choo Joo Yeob. Our partnership with Mardi Waluyo Hospital has continued for 19 years since 2007, and for this field research we worked alongside the hospital's community health team (UPKM).

Lampung Timur is a rural district of Lampung Province, at the southern tip of Sumatra and about an hour from Jakarta by plane. Healthcare in these rural areas falls far behind that of the city of Kota Metro, and the gap in access is wide — because even under the same provincial government and the same policies, the healthcare system does not reach all the way out to the villages.

We traveled more than an hour beyond the city along dirt roads to visit the villages of Batu Badak and Purwo Kencono. There we met village heads, Kaders, patients' families, and residents, and listened to their stories firsthand. The research allowed us to identify the main barriers blocking access to primary healthcare.

Posyandu is a village-level primary healthcare service that opens once a month, much the way a market day comes around. It is not a permanent clinic but a regular gathering — held at the village hall or a similar space — for services such as check-ups and health education. The Kaders are the community health workers (CHWs) who run it. Kaders have long handled maternal and child health, immunization, and health record management, and their role has recently expanded to include hypertension and diabetes care. Yet despite how vital they are, training and equipment have not kept pace, so this part of the system does not function as it should in the villages. Strengthening the capacity of the Kaders and Posyandu is therefore at the heart of this project.

Since 1985, MediAccess has gone wherever medical care is needed, continuing its ministry both in Korea and abroad. As an extension of that journey, Lampung, Indonesia marks a new beginning for MediAccess's overseas healthcare work. Together with the community, we are building a sustainable healthcare system, and we hope to carry the change that begins in Lampung to many more regions.

"Visiting the villages ourselves, seeing firsthand the difficulties that keep residents from reaching medical services, and learning what the field truly needs — it was deeply meaningful." — A member of the MediAccess field research team "Through this research we identified the main causes blocking access to primary healthcare in Lampung Timur, and we were able to design a concrete project to address them — work that was well worth doing. We hope that through our partnership with MediAccess, local residents will live healthier lives, and that we may share God's love and bring hope to neighbors in need of medical care." — Representative, Community Health Team, Mardi Waluyo Hospital

MediAccess, a Global Healthcare Platform NGO

MediAccess is a global healthcare platform NGO established to connect and serve more medical professionals and people in medically underserved areas.