RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – The Indonesian Ministry of Health is strengthening its public communication strategy to raise public awareness of vaccination to prevent the measles outbreak.

The Minister of Health, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, said that this communication strategy includes leveraging on social media. “So, we must also engage people who can communicate this message in an easily understandable language,” said Minister Budi during a workshop with the House of Representatives’ Commission IX at the Parliament Complex in Jakarta on Monday, April 20, 2026.

He emphasized that measles is highly contagious, particularly among children. Case surges typically occur during specific periods, such as early in the year when people’s mobility increases and children return to school.

According to him, vaccination is the most effective intervention to curb the spread of infectious diseases, including COVID-19. “We also know that a vaccine for measles already exists,” he said.

However, measles vaccination coverage declined during the COVID-19 pandemic as the government’s focus shifted to pandemic response. “Many parents missed their children’s measles immunization schedule,” said Minister Budi.

Additionally, the government faces another challenge: public trust in vaccines, including concerns about their halal or haram (permissible or forbidden) status. “The main issue with measles-rubella is that the group that does not trust vaccination is very large,” said Minister Budi.

The government is addressing this by strengthening public communication and simultaneously conducting Outbreak Response Immunization (ORI) in areas with high case counts. Through this program, vaccines are given to all children to break the cycle of transmission.

Minister Budi added that these measures are beginning to show results, with a decline in cases as immunization coverage increases. “As soon as immunization rates rise, cases among children drop immediately,” he said. (Gusti Panji/Bambang MBKA)