The UNHAS Faculty of Nursing Community Service Team held a socialization and training session on the use of the KIA Handbook for Young Babies, targeting midwives and health workers at the Kaluku Bodoa Community Health Center in Makassar City on Friday and Saturday (August 22-23) in the Kaluku Bodoa Community Health Center Hall. Also in attendance were the Head of the Makassar City Health Office (Dr. Nursaidah Sirajuddin, M.Kes), the Head of the Kaluku Bodoa Community Health Center (Dr. Rudi Lautan), and midwives and health workers at the Kaluku Bodoa Community Health Center.
Unhas Faculty of Nursing Lecturer Dr. Suni Hariati, S.Kep., Ns., M.Kep., as the team leader, involved team members who were all from Hsanuddin University, namely lecturers from the Faculty of Health Sciences (Dr. Erfina, S.Kep., Ns., M.Kep; Dr. Tuti Seniwati, S.Kep., Ns., M.Kes; Nurmaulid, S.Kep., Ns., M.Kep; and Andiriani, S.Kep., Ns., M.Kes) and the Faculty of Public Health (Dian Sidik Arsyad, SKM, MKM, Ph.D.), as well as six students who participated as a form of off-campus learning experience.
This activity was carried out by synergizing the KIA Book specifically for small babies with a health coaching approach as an effort to improve the health of babies born small. With the goal of preventing and reducing infant mortality and improving the growth and development of young infants, this activity is expected to contribute to the formation of Indonesia’s golden generation by 2045.
The event began with remarks from the Head of the Kaluku Bodoa Community Health Center, Dr. Rudi Lautan, who welcomed the community service initiative by the Hasanuddin University team. He stated that this activity is highly relevant to the current needs of the community health center, where the use of KIA handbooks specifically for young infants is not yet optimal because not all midwives and cadres have received information on its use.
At the same time, the Head of the Makassar City Health Office, Dr. Nursaidah Sirajuddin, M.Kes., in her remarks stated that “cross-sectoral synergy is needed to resolve health problems in Makassar City. Therefore, we greatly appreciate the concrete role of academics, especially those from Hasanuddin University, in this activity.”
Dr. Suni Hariati, S.Kep., Ns., M.Kep., the head of the Community Service team, stated that this activity was carried out to support the government’s program to optimize the use of the KIA Handbook, specifically the KIA Handbook specifically for young babies, which was just launched in 2023. The utilization of the KIA Handbook by mothers is still suboptimal, at 69.9%, according to the 2023 Indonesian Health Survey. The activity focused on the Kaluku Bodoa Community Health Center, as the community health center with the largest number of integrated health posts (Posyandu) (38), serving 77,000 people and experiencing a significant number of babies born small.
The Community Service Team would like to thank all parties involved, especially the Makassar City Government, the Makassar City Health Office, and the Kaluku Bodoa Community Health Center. We also extend our gratitude to the DRTPM Kemendiktisaintek for funding this Community Service activity, enabling the Impacted Diktisaintek program to be realized by UNHAS.