Makassar, Indonesia, 24 July 2025/ Coastal Domestic Water Research Group / Makassar has been recognized several times for its achievement as a healthy city. However, the story of health in Makassar is not complete if its small islands are left behind. Island communities face different challenges from mainland urban areas, including limited clean water, sanitation problems, waste management issues, food security concerns, restricted access to health services, and higher vulnerability to environmental change.
A published study protocol titled Model in the Development of Healthy Island Indicators in Makassar City highlights an important gap: Indonesia does not yet have a specific indicator model for assessing “healthy islands.” Until now, island health issues have generally been included within the broader Healthy City or Healthy Regency framework. This can be problematic because small islands have unique geographic, ecological, social, and health conditions that cannot always be measured using mainland-based indicators.
The study focuses on developing a Healthy Island model for Makassar City, especially for island communities in Barrang Caddi and Lummu-Lummu. The researchers used a sequential exploratory mixed-method design. In the first stage, they planned in-depth interviews with key informants, including village leaders, community health center staff, community figures, and representatives from health, housing and settlement, social affairs, and food security offices. This stage aimed to identify locally relevant indicators based on real island needs.
In the second stage, the study planned a quantitative survey among island households, followed by model testing using Structural Equation Modeling. The final goal was to construct and test a context-specific Healthy Island indicator model covering environmental, health, and governance domains. This approach is important because a healthy island is not only about the absence of disease. It also includes safe water, proper sanitation, accessible health care, food security, environmental protection, social resilience, and effective local governance.
This topic is strongly related to SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being, because it aims to improve health systems and community well-being in island settings. It also supports SDG 1: No Poverty, since better health and basic services can reduce vulnerability among island households. SDG 4: Quality Education is reflected in the need for community awareness and evidence-based planning. SDG 14: Life Below Water is essential because island life depends closely on marine ecosystems. SDG 15: Life on Land is relevant through sanitation, settlement quality, and environmental management. Finally, SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals is central because healthy islands require collaboration among universities, local government, health services, communities, and cross-sector agencies.
The key message is clear: Makassar cannot be called fully healthy if its islands are not assessed fairly. A Healthy Island model can help policymakers understand what island communities truly need, not only what city-level indicators can measure. By building indicators from local realities, Makassar can move toward a more inclusive, sustainable, and evidence-based approach to public health development.
Reference
DOI:
10.59395/altifani.v5i5.756
Contact:
Dr.Agus Bintara Birawida
+62 85241800050
agusbirawida@unhas.ac.id
