Stakeholders and Media Review AI-Powered Innovations for Maternal and Child Health in West Lombok
- SID Developer
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Efforts to harness Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support maternal and child health services are beginning to take shape in West Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. On Thursday, June 11, representatives from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, the KONEKSI team, national media outlets including Liputan6.com, Tribunnews, IDN Times, Detik.com, Kompas, Suara NTB, and Lombok Post, as well as key stakeholders such as the Chair of the West Nusa Tenggara Posyandu Advisory Team, the Vice Regent of West Lombok, and representatives from the Provincial Health Office, visited Posyandu Cempaka 2 in Tempit Village and Narmada Primary Health Center (Puskesmas Narmada) in West Lombok.
The visit provided an opportunity to observe firsthand how digital technologies developed through an Indonesia–Australia collaboration are being applied to strengthen primary healthcare services, particularly for mothers and children.
The initiative is part of a collaborative Indonesia–Australia research project led by the Summit Institute for Development (SID) in partnership with Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), and Mataram University (UNRAM), with support from the KONEKSI Program, funded by the Australian Government.
One of the technologies showcased during the visit was Optical Character Recognition (OCR), which enables information from paper-based health records and reporting forms to be automatically captured and converted into digital data. The technology was developed to reduce the administrative burden on healthcare workers, who currently spend considerable time on manual data entry and recordkeeping.
In addition to OCR, the research team has developed predictive analytics models that utilize health data to help identify potential risks among mothers and children at an earlier stage. These models provide healthcare workers with timely insights into individuals who may require additional monitoring, intervention, or follow-up care.
The project also features an AI-powered personalized messaging system, which delivers tailored WhatsApp messages directly to pregnant women and mothers based on their health assessment results. These messages provide individualized information about their health status along with recommendations for actions they should take to support their wellbeing and that of their children.
Elise Cole Andrews, First Secretary for Governance and Human Development at the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, expressed her appreciation for the collaboration that brings together research institutions, academic partners, and government stakeholders to address pressing public health challenges.
She highlighted the importance of cross-sector partnerships in developing innovative, evidence-based solutions that can strengthen health systems and improve health outcomes for communities, particularly women and children.
Speaking at the same event, Hj. Sinta M. Iqbal, Chair of the West Nusa Tenggara Posyandu Advisory Team, emphasized the potential of the technology to simplify data collection processes, which remain a routine responsibility of community health volunteers and healthcare workers.
“This technology has the potential to make data collection much easier. We hope initiatives like this will not only be implemented across Lombok Island but can also be expanded to Sumbawa Island,” she said.
She also expressed her appreciation to all partners involved and voiced her support for the continued development and sustainability of the program.
At Posyandu Cempaka 2, visitors observed firsthand the delivery of integrated community health services demonstrated by village midwife Silviana Herlinda. She showcased how health data that was previously recorded manually can now be scanned using OCR technology, significantly accelerating the digitization process and reducing administrative workload.
The visit was followed by a discussion session with attending media representatives. Topics raised included the development process behind the technology, challenges encountered during field implementation, and opportunities for scaling and integrating these innovations into Indonesia’s national health system.
The delegation then continued to Narmada Primary Health Center (Puskesmas Narmada) to observe how health data is being utilized to support maternal health monitoring. Through a digital dashboard developed under the project, healthcare workers are able to access more structured and actionable information, enabling improved monitoring and follow-up for high-risk individuals.
According to Rita Susilowati, Head of Cluster 2 (Maternal and Child Health) at Puskesmas Narmada, faster and more integrated access to health data can significantly strengthen preventive efforts and support earlier interventions.
“This serves as an early detection tool that enables us to provide timely interventions. It offers an important opportunity to prevent potentially more serious complications among pregnant women,” she explained.
Through the development and pilot implementation of these technologies, project partners aim to introduce a new approach to maternal and child health data management. Beyond accelerating the digitization of health records, the initiative seeks to strengthen the use of data for evidence-based decision-making and support more targeted, effective, and responsive healthcare services for communities.
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