Magdalena Lusia, known to family and friends as “Lusi”, vividly remembers the moment she learned she was expecting her first child. Living in Eimadake, a remote village in Sabu Raijua district, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), she was determined to do everything possible to ensure a safe delivery and a bright future for her baby.
“When I was pregnant, I received monthly check-ups at the Eimadake Community Health Centre (puskesmas), mostly with the midwife, and sometimes with the doctor. I was given iron supplements and calcium tablets,” she recalls, adding, “I often read that a bright future for a child starts early – even from the womb.”
Today, many women in Indonesia, like Lusi, benefit from expanded access to free iron and folic acid supplements, as well as key programmes such as the Triple Elimination Initiative – which aims to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis – increased investments in midwife training, stronger referral systems, and the National Health Insurance (JKN) scheme.
Together, these and other initiatives have expanded access to skilled maternal care, ensuring more women across Indonesia – the world’s fourth most populous country – receive essential support throughout pregnancy and childbirth.
The Buku Kesehatan Ibu dan Anak empowers pregnant women across Indonesia with essential information on maternal and child health – from pregnancy to early childhood. (Getty)
The benefits extend not only to a safe delivery process but also to what follows. Sweet Rihi Tugu, a mother from Manutapen, Kupang – the capital of NTT – also experienced quality care throughout her pregnancy and in the postnatal period. "The check-ups included blood pressure monitoring, height and weight measurements, haemoglobin tests, as well as screenings for the triple elimination programme,” she says.
Thanks to effective maternal and newborn health counselling, her baby, Sean, was exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life, in alignment with WHO guidelines. “During that time, he always got breast milk and adequate nutrition,” she beams.
A more hopeful tomorrow, today
On World Health Day 2025, under the theme “Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures,” the stories of Lusi and Sweet highlight that tremendous progress is being made in maternal and child health and that achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals targets is possible.
The latest United Nations estimates show that between 2000 and 2023, Indonesia reduced its maternal mortality ratio from 311 per 100 000 live births to 140. Over the same period, it reduced under-five mortality from 52 per 1000 live births to 21.
Across Indonesia, community health workers and midwives continue to advance maternal and child health by offering home visits and counselling on nutrition, immunization and pre-natal and post-natal care.
While challenges in rural and remote areas persist – with the country experiencing an estimated 6300 maternal deaths in 2023 – success stories like Lusi’s and Sweet’s provide hope for the future.
For example, although Lusi had to travel eight hours by boat to Kupang to deliver her baby under an obstetrician's care, efforts such as expanding telemedicine and mobile health teams are making specialized care and consultations more accessible to women in remote and hard-to-reach communities.
Indonesia’s Health Transformation Agenda, launched in 2022, is strengthening puskesmas nationwide, positioning them as the cornerstone for achieving universal health coverage at community doorsteps, with a focus on narrowing regional disparities in maternal and child health outcomes.
Tradition and change
Partner and family support – including evolving gender dynamics – will continue to be vital for a healthy pregnancy and postnatal experience, as both Lusi and Sweet’s experiences show.
Partner and family support play a vital role in ensuring healthy pregnancies and postnatal periods. (Getty)
Lusi’s husband was actively involved in household chores and parenting after she returned to work following the birth of her child. "Both of us work as teachers, so after my maternity leave ended, my parents, in-laws and siblings-in-law helped take care of the children," she says.
Similarly, Sweet credits her husband and extended family for ensuring she received proper nutrition and medical care throughout her pregnancy. "It's important for both mothers and fathers to be well-prepared," she notes.
Ultimately, Indonesia’s progress is not only measured in statistics but in the hope and confidence it has instilled in families. "I really hope that both my children grow up healthy, joyful, blessed by God, loved by many, and become people who contribute positively to our country and nation," says Lusi.
Both women’s journeys reflect the profound impact of Indonesia's ongoing commitment to improving health care for every woman and child, everywhere – a goal that WHO Indonesia will continue to vigorously support, for a healthier, more hopeful future for all.