UGM handed over 4,000 copies of the ‘Covid-19 Resilient-Village’ Pocket Book to the DIY Social Affairs Office on Thursday (23/4) morning. UGM was represented by the UGM Deputy Rector for Education, Teaching and Student Affairs, Prof. Dr. Ir. Djagal Wiseso Marseno, M.Agr., with the teams from UGM Covid-19 Task Force and UGM Press. Meanwhile, the Head of Social Affairs Office, Drs. Untung Sukaryadi, MM, in person, attended the ceremony.
Djagal explaines that this book was made by the UGM Tropical Medicine Center (Tropmed) with assistance from UGM Press for printing. Sources were taken from the Indonesian Ministry of Health, the Indonesian Covid-19 Prevention and Handling Task Force, the POM, WHO, and CDC. Besides being handed over to the Social Affairs Office, 100 books were also handed over to the Sleman Police, which would later be delivered to the Babinkamtibmas.
According to Djagal, Tropmed UGM re-articulated material from these sources into popular Indonesian language which was easy to understand. The goal is so that all people in rural areas can understand it.
The hope is that every family can understand ways to prevent, deal with, and protect every member and neighbour from Covid-19. “Apart from general handling procedures, this pocket book seeks to eliminate the stigma and discrimination experienced by patients, officers, and residents affected by Covid-19,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Drs. Untung Sukaryadi, MM., Head of DIY Social Affairs Office, said that his office gladly accepted this pocket book. This is because so far, his office still lacks sources of information to conduct counselling in the villages.
“So far, sub-districts or villages in DIY have actually had a lot of initiatives in preventing Covid-19, such as guarding every entry point and spraying disinfectant for residents who want to enter. In fact, there were those who sprayed it on every house, even though this was not quite right. This is due to the large amount of information they receive, but its validity is questionable,” he said.
Therefore, the existence of this book provides a solution to disseminate procedures for preventing and handling Covid-19 that are more credible and have valid sources. The variety of languages available for this pocket book, including Javanese, will also make it easier for people in rural areas to accept it, especially for parents who do not normally speak Indonesian.
Finally, Untung stated that the role of society is very important in this pandemic. The government cannot fully assist in overcoming and monitoring conditions on the ground.
“Hopefully with this book, people will not panic and absorb information carelessly,” he concluded.
Source: https://ugm.ac.id/id/berita/19335-ugm-serahkan-buku-saku-desa-tangguh-covid-19-ke-dinas-sosial-diy
