The government has published a set of circulars detailing the eased health protocols and travel requirements for this year’s Idul Fitri prayers and the annual tradition of mudik (exodus).

Thousands gathered after dusk at Istiqlal in Central Jakarta to join the Tarawih prayer, special prayers performed only during the month of Ramadan, donning masks and using check-in apps to take part in the event.

Public demand for COVID-19 vaccines, particularly booster doses, has picked up after a series of conflicting announcements about who would be permitted to engage in the Idul Fitri tradition of mudik (exodus) this year and under what circumstances.

Reports on the number of sexual and gender-based violence cases in Indonesia reveal only the tip of the iceberg.

Indonesia and many other developing nations are ramping up their vaccination campaign, aided by donations from wealthy countries, but they have been calling for donations with a longer shelf life.

The World Wide Fund for Nature estimates fewer than 80 Sumatran rhinos remain in the world, mainly in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

The word "endemic" has become quite the buzzword in recent weeks as the Omicron-fueled surge of infections, hospitalizations and deaths substantially decline in Indonesia, and while the government continues easing restrictions that have been in place since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic two years ago.

Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury have agreed to expand the list of mercury-added products to be phased out and to take the first step toward evaluating the effectiveness of the convention as the fourth Conference of Parties (COP4) concluded over the weekend.

The national struggle to protect women against sexual violence has often been complicated by the more conservative elements of Indonesian society, who are reluctant to endorse rights that go beyond prevailing religious and cultural norms.

Indonesia said it would focus on ensuring equitable access to vaccines and manufacturing, among other topics, as the country is set to kick off the Group of 20 (G20) Health Working Group (HWG) meeting.

The Idul Fitri tradition of mudik (exodus) will return this year with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo announcing that the government would ease restrictions for the holiday festivities for the first time in the two years since the pandemic started.

Activists are increasing pressure on governments to address the barriers that are preventing persons with disabilities and LGBT people from accessing information and services in sexual and reproductive health, including prevailing social stigmas.

The rules, which authorities believe are needed to make platforms remove "unlawful" content quickly, are among the most stringent globally on social media and follow intensifying crackdowns on online content that have alarmed activists in countries like India.

The decision to allow the annual exodus after the holy month of Ramadan is the latest in a series of measures aimed at easing COVID-19 restrictions and reviving the country's economy.

The government further eased restrictions in many areas in Java and Bali and waived quarantine for all fully vaccinated foreign arrivals entering the country starting on Tuesday, as daily coronavirus cases have dropped more than 90 percent from a mid-February peak.

Indonesia has introduced a global declaration that calls on parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury to tackle illegal trade of mercury, with the hope that such a move would spur stronger international cooperation in the future.

As the host of the fourth Conference of the Parties (COP4) to the Minamata Convention on Mercury, Indonesia is aiming to lead parties to the convention to come into agreement on some issues left unresolved in the previous conference, COP4 president Rosa Vivien Ratnawati said.

Environmentalists are not impressed because they believe the strategy shows that the government still does not want to fully stop deforestation despite pressure from environmental groups.

The shift in healthcare focus during the pandemic has shed light on the staggered implementation of family planning programs.

As the Omicron-fueled surge of infections begins to wane in Indonesia, the government has announced a plan to create an outline to help the country's transition to endemicity and return to normal life after two years of battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Bandung Institute of Technology’s (ITB) rectorate struck a deal on Monday with the university’s School of Business and Management (SBM ITB) to allow the latter to resume classes after a dispute over its status as an autonomous institution.

The country reported 9,629 COVID-19 cases on Monday – the first time in 10 weeks the daily caseload was below the 10,000 mark.

Indonesia should come up with better plastic waste management policies as countries recently endorsed a United Nations resolution to end plastic pollution and forge an international legally binding agreement by 2024, activists say.

Yaqut’s progressive policies have been met with various pushbacks from different groups, not least because of his choice of words.

Teachers’ associations say the government should focus on addressing the more urgent problem of learning loss instead.

COVID-19 deaths continue to rise in Indonesia even though the third wave of coronavirus infections — fueled by the highly contagious Omicron variant — has been showing signs of easing these past weeks.

The uptick in cases, which skyrocketed above pre-pandemic levels, indicates growing public awareness of reporting violence against women amid the ongoing pandemic; however, the figure only represents the tip of the iceberg, Komnas Perempuan commissioners said.

The Supreme Court revealed that its religious courts nationwide had granted 64,211 child marriage exemptions in 2020, almost triple the previous year’s log of 23,126 requests.

Statistics Indonesia’s National Socioeconomic Survey (Susenas) from 2018 to 2020 reported an underage marriage prevalence of 15 percent among girls between the ages of 10 and 16 years.

The Manpower Ministry is preparing a decree aimed at preventing and handling cases of sexual violence in workplaces, in a move to provide stronger legal protections for workers amid an increase in reported complaints of such cases in the country.