Jakarta Sees Over 125,000 Mental Health Service Visits, DPRD Urges Prioritization

JAKARTA - A total of 125 thousand visits to mental health services at all health centers were recorded throughout 2025. The high number is considered a signal that mental health problems in Jakarta can no longer be seen as a marginal issue. Member of the E Commission of the DKI Jakarta DPRD, Elva Farhi Qolbina, assessed that the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government must start placing mental health as one of the priorities in the regional health service system. "With hundreds of thousands of our citizens accessing mental health services last year, it shows that this issue has become a serious problem and cannot be ignored anymore. The DKI Provincial Government must pay attention to its people and provide the services they need," said Elva in his statement, Tuesday, June 30. Elva said the PSI Faction was pushing for mental health services to be regulated strictly in the Regional Regulation Draft (Ranperda) on the Regional Health System (Siskesda). According to him, these services need to include promotional, preventive, curative, and rehabilitative efforts. "We from the PSI Faction always accompany the issue of mental health. Now, we are fighting for the DKI Provincial Government to be obliged to provide mental health services from upstream to downstream, both curative, preventive, promotional, and rehabilitative by listing them explicitly in the articles in the Ranperda Siskesda," he said. Elva assessed that so far the issue of mental health has not received the attention it deserves, even though the pressure of urban life continues to increase. "Until now, mental health has not been placed as one of the priorities in the system of building regional health. In fact, the life pressures experienced by the community are getting higher and they are also becoming more aware of it," said Elva. Elva also encouraged the government not only to focus on treatment services, but to strengthen prevention efforts through education and community-based approaches. "One of them, we encourage the DKI Provincial Government, which has always emphasized physical health, to also carry out socialization on the importance of mental and social health. Then, community-based approaches by strengthening social networks so that the community can accompany and help their fellow citizens around them also need to be developed," Elva revealed that the proposal regarding mental health had not yet been included in the initial draft of the Siskesda Ranperda. However, after discussing with the DPRD, a number of inputs began to be accommodated. "Although initially the Health Office did not include it, it has not even clearly defined what mental health is, but after several discussions in the DPRD, the proposals from us were included for discussion," concluded Elva.