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Documentation—Mount Merapi belches incandescent lava, as seen from Turi, Sleman, Yogyakarta on April 25, 2021. (ANTARA PHOTO/Hendra Nurdiyansyah/wsj/KT) - 

While they have continued to grow, the volume of Mount Merapi's lava domes is still within the moderate limit, the Geological Disaster Technology, Research, and Development Center (BPPTKG) has informed.

So far, the lava domes of Mount Merapi have not shown significant growth, BPPTKG head Hanik Humaida observed in Yogyakarta on Thursday.

"The volume of the southwest dome as of December 24, 2021, amounted to 1.65 million cubic meters. For Mount Merapi, that volume is not considered huge, it is still natural," he said.

A group from the BPPTKG-PVMBG-geological agency is capturing images at all times and analyzing the morphology of two new lava domes (southwestern dome and central dome) as well as the old lava dome located around the new domes, he informed. 

In addition to the morphology aspect, BPPTKG is also measuring the volume of the domes, he added.

According to Humaida, the results of the analyses of the lava domes have routinely been conveyed by BPPTKG to all stakeholders and the public, including through the weekly activities report.

Hazard recommendations have also been set since January 2021 based on the scenario of the domes collapsing, he highlighted.

Until now, BPPTKG has maintained the status of Mount Merapi at Level III or alert.

The issuing of lava and hot clouds from Mount Merapi is expected to impact regions in the southeast-southwest sector located in up to a 3-km radius around the Woro River and a 5-km radius around the rivers of Gendol, Kuning, Boyong, Bedog, Krasak, Bebeng, and Putih, Humaid said.

According to him, if the volcano erupts explosively, volcanic material issuing from it could reach areas within a radius of three kilometers from the top of the mountain.

"To date, there has been no significant change in the parameters of Mount Merapi. Nevertheless, of course, we still have to improve preparedness to face it (any emergency)," Humaida affirmed//ANT

The patron of the Indonesia Tourism Forum (IPI), Guntur Subagja Mahardika. (ANTARA/HO/KT) - 

There are six health tourism sectors in Indonesia, which draw from local knowledge, that can be developed further to beat competition from other Southeast Asian nations, the Indonesia Tourism Forum (IPI) has said.

"We need to combine health tourism, medical tourism, and wellness tourism in a broader sense," IPI patron Guntur Subagja Mahardika said here on Thursday.

Mahardika, who is also Special Staff Assistant to the Vice President, said that the six sectors in health tourism that can be developed further are: medical, food and nutrition, beauty, sport, nature, and spiritual and education sectors.

"Three neighboring countries—Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia—have been more advanced in the medical tourism sector, but we (can) excel in wellness and health tourism with the added value of local wisdom," he explained.

Wellness tourism refers to a special interest vacation that allows travelers to maintain their fitness levels, he said during a webinar on 'Making Indonesia a Hub for Global Health Tourism', organized by ISABC (Indonesia - Saudi Arabia Business Council) and the bilateral committee of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).

Data from the Global Wellness Institute shows the global wellness economy has reached US$4.5 trillion, he noted. Meanwhile, last year, Data Bridge Market Research projected that the global health tourism market could reach US$269 billion by 2027, he said.

"The development of Indonesian health tourism will have a major economic impact on other sectors such as MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises), transportation, culinary, creative economy, and other people's economies," Mahardika pointed out.

Another potential is to provide added value to halal services in health tourism, whose economic value has reached US$3.2 trillion globally, he said. Halal health tourism can be an advantage for Indonesia, in addition to the added value of local wisdom, he added.

Therefore, the COVID-19 pandemic can be a momentum for the development of health tourism by working on the potential of local wisdom found in the archipelago, he remarked.

Meanwhile, chairperson of the Indonesian Tourism Doctors Association (Perkedwi), Dr. Mukti Eka, said that Indonesia is ready for developing its health tourism, considering the ability of Indonesian doctors and tourism services, which are not inferior to other countries//ANT

A staff from the Religious Affairs Ministry's trauma healing team interacting with Islamic school teachers affected by Mount Semeru eruption. (ANTARA/HO-Religious Affairs Ministry) - 

The Religious Affairs Ministry has provided a trauma healing service for Islamic school teachers affected by the recent Mount Semeru eruption in Lumajang, East Java, to boost their spirits amid the disaster recovery.

"We must keep our spirits high, and we should see to it that our pupils continue studying despite limitations that we currently faced," the ministry's director for Islamic School Teachers and Education Personnel, Muhammad Zain, noted in a statement on Thursday.

The director highlighted the importance of the teachers' presence for pupils in schools and their role to inspire them.

Zain also encouraged teachers to boost the spirits of their pupils to continue studies after enduring the ordeal of the eruption.

Meanwhile, the ministry's trauma healing team head, Mustofa Fahmi, affirmed that the trauma healing service was provided to teachers from Monday, Dec 27, 2021, to Wednesday, Dec 29, 2021.

The team head expressed hope that the trauma healing team, comprising academics, fellow teachers, and ministry staff, would boost the spirit of teachers affected by the Mount Semeru eruption.

"The trauma healing program is aimed at boosting the teachers' spirits and teaching competency through applying a psychological approach," he affirmed.

Earlier, Surabaya's Airlangga University had also dispatched a team to provide trauma healing programmes for refugees affected by the eruption and the pyroclastic flows that destroyed several villages.

"The team comprised nine volunteers from the university's students organisations," Faculty of Medicine Dean Budi Santoso noted.

Santoso noted that after passing the three-week critical phase of the disaster, most disaster handling measures were nearly conclusion, and health care services had returned to normal.

"Our remaining duty is to help residents recover from their psychological trauma, and our trauma healing programme will boost the residents' spirits," the faculty stated//ANT

Surabaya Deputy Mayor Eri Cahyadi with a child suffering from stunting. (ANTARA PHOTO/HO-Humas Pemkot Surabaya) - 

The Religious Affairs Ministry has said it is committed to ensuring couples are psychologically prepared for running a household through initiatives such as including stunting in the pre-marriage guidance curriculum, or Binwin.

"The goal of Binwin is to prepare future families that have the skill in psychology, social, and family law," Religious Affairs Vice Minister Zainut Tauhid Sa'adi said in a written statement released here on Thursday.

Family resilience is an important issue that continues to be the ministry's concern, he explained.

The pre-marriage guidance, counseling, and health examination process is also a part of the ministry's work program, the vice minister affirmed.

The Binwin program is targeting couples who have registered for marriage and people of marriageable age (19–25 years), he informed.

"We are ready to collaborate to prevent early stunting. We have a network of 5,901 district KUAs (Religious Affairs Office) who are collaborating with the BKKBN (National Population and Family Planning Agency)," Sa'adi informed.

"Of course, we will promptly synergize this program so that its execution can align with the target," he added.

The ministry has periodically conducted evaluation and improvement of pre-marriage guidance, he informed. There are three steps that the ministry has carried out to bolster pre-marriage guidance, he said.

First, it has improved facilitator capacity by edifying Binwin facilitators equally in all provinces, he informed. Second, it is expanding collaboration for conducting Binwin, he said.

"Currently, the number of marriages has reached 1.9 to 2 million couples per year. This figure (all these couples) have not yet fully received Binwin's service from KUAs," Sa'adi highlighted.

"To this end, we will continue to develop collaboration with Islamic organizations, universities, and other institutions," he elaborated.

The third step concerns the fulfillment of KUA infrastructure through the KUA revitalization program, which is the ministry's priority program, Sa'adi said.

This year, 106 KUAs have been revamped, he informed. From next year, the ministry is aiming to revitalize one thousand KUAs each year, he said.

"We welcome the unveiling of guidance, counseling, and health examination program within three months of pre-marriage. We are ready to continue to synergize for a better future generation," Sa'adi affirmed//ANT