‘Aisyiyah Ngawi: The Importance of Disseminating Information and Advocating about National Health Insurance

Women are the cornerstones in raising healthy and prosperous families. Shaping the next generation and taking care of their health are their main focus. Therefore, women’s ability to obtain health insurance should not be limited. Their duties mean they have to multi-task both in and outside their homes. If women are healthy, all these tasks can be carried out properly.

Poor women who are unable to obtain adequate health insurance, in fact can be insured under the government’s National Health Insurance Program ( JKN – Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional). If people already understand the procedure and the benefits, it can helps them whether they pay the premiums themselves or paid by the government (JKN PBI).

According to Hj. Sutjiatim MPd, Chairperson of the ‘Aisyiyah Regional Board in Ngawi, the two Sub-districts, namely Kedunggalar comprising the villages of Kawu and Gemarang, and Sine comprising the village of Kauman, ‘Aisyiyah have managed to register 156 married couples of child bearing age with the JKN PBI program.

Prior to advocating for the registeration of those 156 married couples, ‘Aisyiyah has disseminated information about the JKN PBI program to all surrounding communities, especially through the Balai Sakinah Aisyiyah forum supported by the MAMPU Program. Understanding the importance of having health insurance is emphasized at every meeting, along with providing information on how to register, starting from the preparation of documents, interviews and the procedure for paying if their premiums are not paid by the government (JKN PBI).

Therefore, in order to raise community awareness for registering JKN, ‘Aisyiyah always strengthens cooperation and partnerships with various stakeholders, both with the government side and community organizations. Thus, the process can runs smoothly and without difficulty.

The achievement in registering those 156 married couples, according Sutjiatim, can be attributed to the hard work of ‘Aisyiyah’s staff in assisting them, starting from the preparation of the necessary documents, to the submission of applications to the Health, Social Affairs, and Community Welfare Offices and the Hospital.

In addition, they assist them during the interviews at the BPJS Office in Ngawi. The process does not encounter problems because ‘Aisyiyah works in partnership with the Health Office.

“The challenges and obstacles are making people to understand and raising public awareness about the importance of JKN membership. So our assistance is very important. Changing the mindset of the people needs to be done gradually,” said Sutjiatim.