Puskesmas are the spearheads of basic healthcare services provided by the government. Puskesmas along with their supporting units, such as posyandu, pustu, pusling, and polindes, have an important role because they are the main health services that reach communities down to the village level and which are relatively affordable for the poor.

In this edition, SMERU's researchers discuss puskesmas in the era of regional autonomy, how puskesmas services are delivered, what happens in puskesmas in our rural areas, whether regional autonomy has had an impact upon health services, and whether communities still depend upon puskesmas in the case of a medical emergency.

One of our guest writers, Prof. Terence Hull, considers statistics as very important in determining the direction of health policies and programs, but what about the accuracy of our statistics? Finally, this edition is closed with Baby Jim Aditya's account of advocating HIV/AIDS, a health problem whose presence and impact we are only just beginning to comprehend.