RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - The Provincial Administration of DKI Jakarta is providing free surgical procedures for cleft lips and palates at two local hospitals: Tebet Regional General Hospital (RSUD Tebet) in South Jakarta and Cempaka Putih Regional General Hospital (RSUD Cempaka Putih) in Central Jakarta. The healthcare initiative is being organized under the Bakti Lima Abad Jakarta (Five Centuries of Jakarta Social Service) campaign.

The charity program is part of a broader series of public health social services dedicated to commemorating Jakarta's upcoming 500th anniversary. By centering these procedures at Type C regional hospitals, the administration aims to bring specialized, high-quality healthcare services closer to grassroots communities.

"This program has been running since last year, and for this period it is being implemented in two locations, namely Tebet Regional Hospital and Cempaka Putih Regional Hospital," Assistant for Public Welfare of DKI Jakarta Province, Ali Maulana Hakim, said during his opening address at Tebet Regional Hospital on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, as quoted by Antara.

While holding a Jakarta identity card (KTP DKI Jakarta) is one of the primary criteria for applicants, the provincial government has opened the program to patients living outside the capital region. Authorities are actively encouraging families, relatives, and acquaintances nationwide who need plastic surgery interventions for cleft lip and palate conditions to register for the program.

The surgeries themselves are highly efficient, typically lasting between 30 minutes to an hour depending on the complexity of the case. Patients are generally permitted to return home on the same day after the procedure has been completed.

Should a patient require more complex, specialized follow-up care or long-term monitoring, they will be directly referred to the national central general hospital, Rumah Sakit Cipto Mangunkusumo (RSCM).

The Director of RSUD Tebet, Juliet Pieter, revealed that 30 patients originally registered for the surgical wave. However, following rigorous pre-operative medical screening, several candidates had to have their surgeries postponed because they did not meet the minimum weight requirements, were experiencing fevers, or presented other unstable health conditions.

Because the free surgery campaign is scheduled to run for an entire year, the hospital management plans to continuously broadcast registration information through social media channels and local community health networks at the urban village and subdistrict levels. The extensive outreach ensures that eligible families can access the service, which normally costs nearly IDR 30 million (USD 1,840) per surgery when undertaken independently. ***