Around 700,000 Indonesian Children Show Symptoms of Mental Disorders, Minister Says

10 hours ago 2

March 10, 2026 | 08:49 am

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's Minister of Health, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, revealed that 10 percent or approximately 700,000 children in Indonesia have been detected with symptoms of mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. This data was obtained from the examination of children through the free health check program or CKG.

Budi explained that throughout 2025-2026, President Prabowo Subianto's priority program had reached 7 million Indonesian children. As a result, approximately 4.4 percent or around 338 thousand children showed symptoms of anxiety disorder. Additionally, about 4.8 percent or around 363 thousand children were found to experience symptoms of depression disorder.

"This shows that mental health issues are very significant," said Budi during a press conference on Efforts for the Prevention and Treatment of Children's Mental Health, broadcasted on the Ministry of Health's Youtube channel on Monday, March 9, 2026.

Budi explained that the age group of 11 to 17 years old had the highest prevalence of mental health issues. He stated that many in this group had thoughts of ending their lives. For example, data from the Global School-Based Student Health Survey showed that the percentage of students who had considered ending their lives increased from 5.4 percent in 2015 to 8.5 percent in 2023, or about 1.6 times higher.

Moreover, there was a sharper increase in the percentage of students who had attempted to end their lives. The figure doubled, from 3.9 percent in 2015 to 10.7 percent in 2023.

Therefore, according to Budi, mental health issues in children must be taken seriously. Budi wants the government's health policies to start addressing this area. He emphasized that the mental health issues in children are not only influenced by individual factors, but largely influenced by the environment, family, friendships, and education. "What needs to be improved is not only the children themselves, but also the parenting patterns and learning environment," he said.

Budi also mentioned that the government is currently accelerating the provision of clinical psychologist resources in community health centers, which is currently limited to about 203 people. In addition, the government is preparing a mental health crisis service through Healing119.id to support rapid intervention.

Read: 28 Million Indonesians May Have Mental Health Issues, Says Health Minister

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