In Central Kalimantan’s peat swamp forests, rivers can be lifelines. They connect villages, enable livelihoods, and determine whether healthcare can be reached at all.
The story of Posyandu Terapung (Floating Health Post), supported by the Katingan Mentaya Project, was included in the Annex of Indonesia’s Fourth Voluntary National Review (VNR) to the United Nations SDG Country Report (p. 67) as a Good Practice for SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being.
What began as a simple response to a lack of road connectivity- healthcare delivered by small boats – has grown into a lifeline for remote peatland communities and a recognised example of how local action can strengthen fair access to health care.
When geography limits health
Across the peat swamp forest landscape of Central Kalimantan, villages face persistent barriers to basic health services. Roads are limited and often impassable during the rainy season. For many months each year, boats are the only way to reach a clinic.
Travel by river can be expensive and time-consuming. Families are frequently forced to choose between long, costly journeys or living with untreated illness. Local health facilities are typically located in more populated, built-up areas, medicine supplies to remote areas can be insufficient, , and visits from healthcare workers are irregular.
In these conditions, access to healthcare is not guaranteed. It must be actively brought to the community.
Health care that comes by river
In response, the project team works in collaboration with local Puskesmas (Community Health Centres) and village governments, and launched Posyandu Terapung in 2020.
Delivered by traditional klotok boats, the Floating Health Post now reaches approximately 1,000 residents across fourteen remote villages. The service provides essential, preventive healthcare, including:
- Basic health check-ups
- Disease screening and early detection
- Nutritional monitoring
- Elderly health services
- Health education on hygiene and environmental health
By travelling along the river, Posyandu Terapung ensures that health care remains accessible even during floods and in the most hard-to-reach areas.
Building trust and improving health outcomes
Since its introduction, the Floating Health Post has strengthened community trust in preventive health care. Mrs. Suniarni, a nurse from the Baun Bango Health Centre, has been involved since 2020 and has seen firsthand how integrated services – especially elderly care and disease screening – can be delivered more effectively through a single visit.
Village health teams have become more confident and independent, community participation has increased, and awareness of sanitation and healthy living practices has grown. These improvements support earlier diagnosis, better disease management, and healthier communities overall.
Going the last mile for health equity
Through Posyandu Terapung, doctors, public health workers, and community health teams trained by the Katingan Mentaya Project continue to reach villages that are often overlooked by conventional health systems. For these teams, the river is not a barrier, it is the route that makes health equity possible.
The Floating Health Post currently serves communities in:
Kotawaringin Timur Regency
- Desa Serambut
- Desa Satiruk
- Desa Hantipan
- Desa Bapinang Hilir Laut
- Desa Bapinang Hilir
Katingan Regency
- Desa Tumbang Bulan
- Desa Perigi
- Desa Telaga
- Desa Galinggang
- Desa Tampelas
- Desa Karuing
- Desa Parupuk
- Desa Jahanjang
- Desa Tumbang Runen
A recognised model for SDG 3
The inclusion of Posyandu Terapung in Indonesia’s Fourth VNR underscores its contribution to SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being, particularly in improving access to essential health services for remote and climate-vulnerable populations.
For us, this recognition is a reminder that meaningful health solutions do not always require large hospitals or complex infrastructure. Sometimes, they begin with listening to communities. Choosing to travel the extra mile, or the extra river bend, to ensure that no one is left behind.
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