Students from the Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Indonesia (FPH UI), have once again brought pride to the nation on the international stage by winning awards at The 8th Global Public Health Conference (GlobeHeal 2025). The conference, held on February 20-21, 2025, in Bangkok, Thailand, carried the theme “Community Engagement and Empowerment: Strengthening Health Promotion Initiatives.” This prestigious event gathered public health professionals from various countries to share innovations and solutions in addressing global health challenges.
In this prestigious forum, Afandi Setia Apriliyan, a master’s student in Epidemiology specializing in the Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP), won the Best Presenter award. Meanwhile, Anisful Lailil Munawaroh, a doctoral student in Public Health Sciences, received the Best Social Media Ambassador award. Their achievements reflect their dedication to presenting impactful research and ideas for Indonesia’s health system.
GlobeHeal 2025 welcomed participants from various countries, including Indonesia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, India, and Ghana. Before being selected, participants underwent a rigorous screening process by submitting research abstracts, which were reviewed by the conference committee through a peer-review process. Once accepted, they had the opportunity to present their research findings before an audience of academics, health practitioners, and policymakers.
Afandi won the Best Presenter award for his research titled “The First Phase of Developing the Early Warning Alert and Response System (EWARS) Application at Sekarwangi Regional General Hospital, Sukabumi Regency, West Java, Indonesia.” His study focuses on developing a web-based early warning system to enhance the efficiency of reporting communicable diseases that have the potential to become outbreaks.
EWARS was developed using the Agile methodology within the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) framework and has been implemented in 58 community health centers (Puskesmas), two Sukabumi District Health Office officers, and a hospital surveillance team. The system enables real-time disease reporting, allowing healthcare workers to make data-driven decisions more efficiently.
Since its launch in February 2024, EWARS has recorded over 6,000 potential outbreak diagnoses, with pneumonia being the most reported case (2,306 cases), followed by typhoid (1,881 cases) and dengue fever (955 cases). By July 2024, the system had sent 2,439 notifications, with 1,419 notifications opened by users. However, one of the main challenges is delayed data entry from hospitals, with reports typically submitted three days after patient discharge. Moving forward, the system will be enhanced with predictive analytics integration and regular data audits to improve reporting accuracy and timeliness.
Anisful Lailil Munawaroh successfully presented her research titled “Empowering Construction Workers as Facilitators in HIV-AIDS Prevention: A Workplace Health Initiative.” Her study highlights the high risk of construction workers contracting sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV-AIDS, due to factors such as a male-dominated workforce, financial incentives, masculinity culture, and high mobility. This research aims to increase awareness and preparedness among construction workers in implementing HIV-AIDS prevention strategies through a facilitator-based training program, aligning with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3: Good Health and Well-being.
Using a quasi-experimental design, the study involved 30 construction workers who participated in a comprehensive training program, including theoretical seminars, case discussions, and workshops based on the HIV-AIDS prevention curriculum set by Indonesia’s Ministry of Manpower. The findings, under the guidance of Prof. Dra. Fatma Lestari, M.Si., Ph.D., and Drg. Baiduri Widanarko, M.K.K.K., Ph.D., demonstrated that facilitator training significantly improved workers’ knowledge and readiness to implement HIV-AIDS prevention measures in the workplace.
Amid various health system challenges, FPH UI continues to serve as an academic hub for innovation and the development of top-tier public health professionals. The institution’s support for students in international forums is a testament to its commitment to encouraging young academics to contribute on a global scale.
A concrete example of this support is Afandi’s sponsorship approval from FPH UI through the FETP UI Coordinator, allowing him to participate in GlobeHeal 2025. Afandi hopes that his achievement will inspire other FPH UI students to actively participate in international conferences. He emphasized that thorough preparation is the key to delivering an effective and convincing presentation before an international audience.
“Choose a research topic that is unique, impactful, and relevant to Indonesia’s health system. Additionally, prepare your presentation thoroughly—starting from scripting, summarizing key points in one slide, to rehearsing several days before the conference to ensure proper time management,” Afandi advised.
Anisful echoed this sentiment, adding that being Best Social Media Ambassador is not just about online presence but also about inspiring and encouraging others to engage in scientific forums. “The key is consistency and creativity in storytelling—from preparation, travel experiences, to memorable moments at the conference,” she explained. With the right strategy, social media can be an effective tool for disseminating knowledge and expanding the impact of academic participation on a global scale.
Prof. Dr. Mondastri Korib Sudaryo, M.S., D.Sc., Dean of FPH UI, expressed appreciation for the outstanding achievements of these two students.
“We are extremely proud of the remarkable accomplishments of Afandi Setia Apriliyan and Anisful Lailil Munawaroh at The 8th Global Public Health Conference 2025. Their success reflects the dedication, academic competence, and innovative spirit of FPH UI students in delivering real solutions to public health challenges. We hope their achievements will inspire other students to continue excelling and contributing at national and international levels. FPH UI, in line with UI’s vision to produce outstanding and impactful contributions through the Tridharma of higher education, remains committed to supporting student development in various scientific forums. This is essential in strengthening the role of Indonesian public health academics on both national and international stages,” said Prof. Mondastri.
The success of FPH UI students at GlobeHeal 2025 demonstrates that Indonesian young academics can actively contribute to global discussions on public health. These achievements are expected to open more opportunities for FPH UI students to participate in international conferences and present innovations that positively impact the national health system. (wrk/DFD)