The coronavirus outbreak or the Covid-19 case that is sweeping the world today requires us to pay more attention to every aspect of its prevention and handling. Healthcare workers, such as doctors, nurses, and other health professionals, are currently at the frontline of handling various Covid-19 cases. Not a few of them experience fatigue both physically and mentally. The high workload, if it is not accompanied by a balanced nutritional intake, can reduce the immunity of these medical workers.
Realizing the situation, UI medical students initiated a movement with aim to help healthcare workers, especially those who are assigned to work at the referral hospitals for handling Covid-19, in fulfilling their needs of balanced nutrition and personal protective equipment.
These two UI medical students’ social actions coordinated with the Student Executive Board of the FKUI which had taken real action to help the basic needs of the healthcare workers’ struggle in facing COVID-19 pandemic.
Nutrition for Front Liner (Nutrisi Garda Terdepan – NGT)
First is the Nutrition for Front Liner (NGT), a movement pioneered by Eghar Anugrahpaksi and Henny Zidny Robby. Both of them are UI medical student year of 2015. Through NGT, they distributed aid in the form of balanced nutritious healthy food with milk, and vitamin supplement to medical officers on duty at the Covid-19 referral hospital, especially in DKI Jakarta. “They (medical officers) need adequate and optimal nutrition. To fulfill this effort, we want to provide nutritious food, milk and vitamins for health workers at the frontline with a total of around 1200 people, “said Eghar Anugrahpaksi. The assistance was obtained through online fundraising on the kitabisa.com site.
Collaboration for Hope
Next is the Collaboration for Hope (CO-Hope) movement, which is a group of humanitarian volunteers initiated by Yosilia Nursakina and Reza Haryo Yudanto, FKUI student year of 2014. This movement is a real action of humanitarian activity that focuses on providing medical equipment (Personal Protective Equipment – PPE such as masks, covers, gowns, hand sanitizers, gloves, and other equipment for healthcare workers who are currently handling Covid-19 cases in the Greater Jakarta area.
“We are moved by the lack of personal protective equipment available for health workers, especially in the Greater Jakarta area. In fact, in handling positive patients with Covid-19, health workers certainly need adequate PPE to prevent the risk of transmission, “said Yosilia Nursakina to the FKUI Public Relations. “We are moving by connecting sponsors, fundraisers and people who want to help with health workers in need,” she continued later. Social actions such as NGT and CO-Hope are result of concern of UI medical students towards the situation of the corona virus outbreak in Indonesia. This movement has also succeeded in distributing various community donation both from institutions and organizations such as Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), kitabisa.com, Muhajir Project, and the Media Group Foundation as well as personal donation, to medical officers at several Covid-19 referral hospitals which also the teaching hospital for FKUI residents.