SPF KReAtiF

A Youth Community Against Filariasis

Filariasis is an infectious disease caused by Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi and

Brugia timori. Filariasis can be transmitted by various types of mosquitos as vector. Clinical
manifestation which is enlarging or swelling in the body parts can make patient experiences
pain, suffer from social rejection until dropped out from school or job. It makes this topic as
one of the most desirable disease to be cleared off.

Indonesia is the second biggest endemic country of filariasis after India. Indonesia is
targeted free from filariasis in 2020. South Tangerang is one of the endemic area which has
1-100 cases each year. As a medical doctor this is our responsibility to solve this problem.

To achieve this goal, we have a programme called KReAtiF (Komunitas Remaja Anti
Filariasis) or in English called Youth Community Against Filariasis. This community is made
by us. It consists of junior and high school students in several school in Indonesia. After we
establish KReAtiF, we will introduce our three main missions that will be done by the
students who join this community. We called these three missions with SPF, it stands for
studium generale, peer-to-peer education and fund raising.

First, the studium generale is a talk show event where the filariasis patients will tell
about their experience against filariasis to the inhabitants of endemic area and where the
expert will give them more information about filariasis. This mission’s purpose is to make
the audiences of the talk show are more aware and persuade them to prevent filariasis.

Second, the peer-to-peer education mission, its purpose as the continuation of the
studium generale, members of KReAtiF should share their knowledge. They can teach their
family and friends to do the self-protection from the vector by applying the mosquito
repellent on their exposed skin especially in dusk and dawn, sleeping under mosquito net, and
wearing long sleeves and trousers. They can also plan how to prevent the disease spreads by
making community self-help to clean any scrap heap and prevent or manage any stagnant
water as one of the vector control routinely. For the massive control of the vector, they can
suggest to do the controlling by using larvasides or insecticide spraying. They also have to
remind their family and friends to take the prophylaxis drugs every year when the
government distributes the massive drug.
 Our third mission is fund raising. To do fund raising, we could ask for donation by
door-to-door, mass or online media, etc. These donations are used to help the treatment for
filariasis patient or it can be also as their investment to help their finance by making a small
business, especially for the patient who lost their job. One of their small business can be a
handcraft business, members of KReAtiF can help this by distributing these handcrafts and
sell them.

We hope SPF KReAtiF could help decreasing the prevalence of filariasis, improving
the quality of life of filariasis patients, and achieving Indonesia free from filariasis 2020.