Indonesia needs to invest more on human development<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
The era of decentralization has actually opened a great
\npossibility for the nation to gradually move its development
\npattern from natural resources-based to human resources-based
\ndevelopment.<\/p>\n
Ascobat Gani, a prominent advocate of family planning and
\nhuman development, said on Saturday that the growth-oriented
\ndevelopment in the Soeharto era that continues until now had cost
\nthe nation a lot.<\/p>\n
The \"trilogy of development\" during Soeharto's years put too
\nmuch emphasis on security and economic growth and did not even
\ntouch on human development, he said.<\/p>\n
\"Forests were cleared for the sake of achieving the target of
\ngrowth figures,\" Ascobat said.<\/p>\n
Surprisingly, the current administration is repeating such
\nmistakes.<\/p>\n
What is needed is a paradigm shift from natural wealth
\n\"extraction\" to \"innovation\" in human development, Ascobat said.<\/p>\n
It is not unusual, he said, for people to overlook human
\n\"capital\".<\/p>\n
East Nusa Tenggara, he said, citing an example, has a
\npopulation of 3.6 million people but it is often regarded as a
\npoor province.<\/p>\n
\"People are simply unaware that the large population there is
\nan asset,\" said Ascobat.<\/p>\n
The government, he said, needs to have a kind of \"trilogy of
\ndevelopment\" but with an emphasis on human development.<\/p>\n
With a \"trilogy of human development\", each region would be
\nrequired to invest significantly in education and health
\nservices, two basic elements of human development.<\/p>\n
Regencies should allocate at least Rp 25,000 (US$2.80) per
\ncapita to provide basic health services, and Rp 1,000,000 per
\nstudent to give them basic education, Ascobat said.<\/p>\n
\"Today's figure for health costs is equal to two packets of
\ncigarettes,\" he said on the sidelines of a discussion on family
\nplanning and reproductive health hosted by The Jakarta Post and
\nJohns Hopkins University.<\/p>\n
He added that the regency that invests the most in health is
\nBadung on Bali island, which allocates US$2.20 per capita for
\nhealth services.<\/p>\n
Legislator Surya Chandra Surapaty, who was one of the speakers
\nin the discussion, talked about how each region yearned to have a
\npublic hospital as if the building was the only prerequisite to
\nhealth.<\/p>\n
\"They forget that clean water is also an element for achieving
\na healthy life,\" he said, adding that almost all regents had
\nsubmitted a similar request.<\/p>\n
On education, Indonesia only invests about Rp 450,000 per
\nstudent, less than half of the minimum requirement.<\/p>\n
Indonesia invests around 1.4 percent of its gross national
\nproduct on education, compared with a global average of Rp 4.8
\npercent.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, which is losing out in global competition, will
\ncontinue to lose out in the global economy unless it starts to
\ninvest significantly in human development.<\/p>\n
There have been encouraging signs, though, he said, citing the
\neasternmost province of Papua which allocates 30 percent of its
\nyearly budget to education and 15 percent to health.<\/p>\n
Other regions, at least the rich ones such as East Kalimantan
\nand Aceh, should follow suit.<\/p>\n
As for poor provinces and regencies in terms of natural
\nresources, the central government should give a helping hand to
\nensure that those local administrations can provide financing for
\nbasic health services and education.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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