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WINNER 2021 » Speakers » Fotarisman Zaluchu
Fotarisman Zaluchu
Lecturer at the University of North Sumatra, Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences

BIOGRAPHY

Fotarisman Zaluchu currently works as a lecturer at the University of North Sumatra, Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences. The main theme of his career is an effort to increase community involvement in public health. He has been involved in organizing health training and promotion through various channels in the community. About 20 years ago, he started her job by involving cadres in Belawan, Medan, to become maternal health educators in certain communities. Funded by the Regional AIDS Commission, he has been involved in providing public education through religious leaders in Deli Serdang. This project was very important because it was held when the HIV/AIDS campaign was still very taboo to involve religious leaders.

When he finished his master’s degree at the University of Leeds, UK, he had prepared a research proposal on dengue. The proposal then won a research competition organized by WHO-SEARO. The proposal contains an assessment of dengue in the city of Medan, including community behavior.

In 2012, he conducted a very important research on reproductive health. Through the use of traditional dances that are commonly performed at weddings, in collaboration with a team from the Ministry of Health and the University of North Sumatra, he composed important messages on reproductive health. The project received support from local leaders and attracted the attention of the Ministry of Health.

During 2013-2018, he studied at AISSR-UvA Amsterdam. His research is about maternal mortality on Nias Island. In his thesis, he explained that maternal mortality is in a social context, which places women in the lowest position in the community. He has studied the role of husbands in the family and carried out gender equality-based education in three districts on Nias Island. In his thesis, by using gender audit, he concluded that without community involvement and gender equality, maternal death in Indonesia will not be able to reduce.

Since 2020, he has been involving in research on efforts to increase husband’s participation in supporting wife’s pregnancy. This research aims to promote the health of pregnant women, which is still a major project in Indonesia. The research was conducted in Toba Regency, using a cultural approach to encourage cultural change. Apart from Toba Regency, the same research was also conducted on Nias Island. The main objective is to encourage the achievement of the SDGs targets in Indonesia.

In addition to maternal health, he is currently involving in efforts to attack stunting in Indonesia. In three districts on Nias Island, this study conducted health campaigns for pregnant women and mothers under five by involving church organizations. In that way, the organization of activities will be better and the sustainability of the activities will be guaranteed.