PORTALJABAR, GARUT REGENCY - The Garut Regency Government (Pemkab) officially launched the second phase of the Digitally Enabled District (DED) program as an effort to digitally transform primary healthcare services.

The launch took place at the Harmoni Hotel Ballroom on Jalan Cipanas Baru, Tarogong Kaler District, Garut Regency, on Tuesday (April 14, 2026). The event was also attended by the Regional Secretary of Garut Regency, Nurdin Yana.

This event is the result of a collaboration between the Garut Regency Government and the Summit Institute for Development (SID), which aims to integrate health data systems to improve people's lives.

Garut Regent Abdusy Syakur Amin emphasized that digital innovation is key for a region as vast and densely populated as Garut Regency. He stated that improving health indicators such as life expectancy and reducing maternal and infant mortality rates (MMR) can no longer rely solely on conventional methods.

"Therefore, I truly appreciate and am very happy because today we will be launching the Digitally Enabled District, initiated by SID together with the Garut Regency Government to jointly improve the quality of integrated, systematic, and comprehensive services," he said.

The Regent of Garut specifically highlighted the importance of early health monitoring through antenatal care (ANC). He urged healthcare workers at community health centers (Puskesmas) and hospitals to seriously develop a digital culture by entering data accurately and timely.

"So, on this occasion, I invite all relevant parties, especially health workers at community health centers and hospitals, to work together to improve digital culture. Therefore, we must enter data promptly, accurately, correctly, and seriously," he continued.

In the same location, the Director of Health Promotion and Community Health at the Indonesian Ministry of Health, Dr. Niken Wastu Palupi, praised the progressive steps taken by Garut Regency, which has often been a national model in implementing Integrated Primary Health Services (ILP).

"How is the implementation of the ILP like, and what innovations have been implemented in Garut? Thank you, Mr. Regional Secretary and staff, for your support and encouragement in making health a priority in Garut Regency," he said.

Dr. Niken also highlighted the workload of healthcare workers in the field due to the large number of applications they must complete. She hopes the DED program will provide real solutions for healthcare workers.

"We hope that this DED will make it easier for our colleagues to input data, and it will certainly serve as evidence for our leaders in making policies, especially regarding health," he said.

SID CEO, Yuni Dwi Setiyawati, revealed that Garut was selected as one of four regencies in Indonesia to receive assistance starting in 2023. This was due to the strong commitment of regional leaders to integrated data.

"So, from 2023 to today, it's remarkable that our journey with you and your family in Garut Regency has reached phase two. So, in the first phase, our task was to help identify regions in Indonesia that have been mandated to participate in ILP at the national level," he said.

Yuni also praised the positive response from the Garut Regency Government, which was followed up with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to improve the quality of services in the health sector, especially in data collection.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Garut Regency Health Office, Dr. Leli Yuliani, expressed her gratitude for the SID's support. Based on her own research, the presence of partners such as NGOs is a key driver of successful ILP implementation in the region.

"Once again, thank you to SID, one of the partners assigned by the Ministry of Health. Hopefully, this collaboration will continue. It won't just end in 2027, but we hope it can be extended," he concluded.

DED itself is a collaborative program between the Summit Institute for Development and the Garut Regency Government, supported by the Gates Foundation, to make Garut a pilot district for digital health based on the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) interoperability standard in primary care.

Transforming primary care requires an interconnected data ecosystem that can be used for monitoring and follow-up. DED is building an end-to-end FHIR-based system to support integration with Satu Sehat, strengthen human resource capacity, and prepare district governance for expansion.

(Garut Communications and Information Service/bhf)