RRI.CO.ID, Bogor – The Ministry of Religious Affairs, in collaboration with UNICEF Indonesia, has launched the Pesantren Kilat ImmuniBooster Workshop to strengthen health literacy, resilience against misinformation, and immunization awareness among santri (Islamic boarding school students).

The program was held in Bogor from February 24–26, 2026, involving students from pesantren recommended by the ministry.

The initiative responds to the high number of children who have not received complete basic immunizations and the spread of misinformation in digital spaces that influences perceptions of vaccines, including within religious communities.

Director of PesantrenBasnang Said emphasized that pesantren, with millions of students across tens of thousands of institutions, plays a strategic role in shaping the younger generation.

Strengthening health literacy through Islamic values is considered essential so that santri can act as agents of change in their schools and communities. “This approach contextualizes immunization as a preventive effort to avoid harm, in line with maqashid al-syari’ah in safeguarding life (hifz al-nafs),” Basnang said in Bogor on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, as quoted on the Religious Affairs Ministry's official website.

Yusi Damayanti, Head of the Sub-directorate for Salafiyah Education, added that maintaining health is a divine trust (amanah) that must be pursued through knowledge, verification (tabayun), and earnest effort (ikhtiar).

To reinforce theological grounding, the ministry invited Sofi Mubarok, a lecturer at UIN Cirebon and scholar of classical Islamic texts. He explained that the principle of disease prevention has long been discussed by scholars through the maxim dar’ al-mafasid muqaddam ‘ala jalb al-masalih (preventing harm takes precedence over seeking benefit). Immunization, he noted, can be understood as a scientific form of ikhtiar consistent with this principle. ***

The workshop engaged 40 students aged 15–18 from four pesantren, accompanied by teachers or dormitory supervisors. Over three days, participants explored perceptions of immunization, identified myths and misconceptions, and shared experiences related to health in their schools and families. They received training on children’s health rights, basic immunization, fact-checking and hoax identification, and community-based action planning.

As an outcome, the students’ discussions on myths and facts will be compiled into a pocket book or cheat sheet, designed to be simple, contextual, and easily understood for use within the pesantren environment.

UNICEF Indonesia highlighted that young people, including santri, are strategic actors in the digital ecosystem with strong potential to spread positive health messages. Equipping them with information literacy and fact-verification skills is seen as crucial to building resilience against disinformation.

Through this collaboration, pesantren are expected to strengthen their role as centers of health education responsive to contemporary challenges, while fostering a generation of santri who are healthy, critical toward information, and capable of safeguarding their communities.