Poor health development lamented<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Former cabinet minister Emil Salim yesterday
\ncalled for reform and more funding for health development.<\/p>\n
An observer of health issues, Emil said certain policies, such
\nas limiting the number of doctors employed as civil servants,
\nwere the cause of Indonesia's poor health record compared with
\ncountries such as Cuba or Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n
"The limited funds allotted to development in the health
\nsector are a result of the government's lack of political will,"
\nhe told hundreds of medical experts at a four-day national
\ncongress of the Indonesian Hospitals Association yesterday.<\/p>\n
"A country's health status is not determined only by economic
\nfactors, but by (the government's) political decisions," said
\nEmil, formerly the minister of population and of environment. He
\nis a respected economist and a professor at University of
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
"A political statement, testifying that without health we are
\nnothing, is very important. Health is not a small matter. It's
\nthe goal of development," he said.<\/p>\n
Sri Lanka allots 2.7 percent of its GDP for health, Cuba 3
\npercent, while Indonesia allocates 0.7 percent of its GDP to the
\nhealth sector.<\/p>\n
He criticized the zero growth policy of the Ministry of
\nHealth, under which only a limited number of doctors can become
\ncivil servants. This policy also applies to those who have
\ncompleted their mandatory service in remote areas after
\ngraduating from medical school.<\/p>\n
"Who wants to become a doctor in a very remote area, with an
\nuncertain future, low income and lack of facilities, when you can
\nhave everything in big cities," Emil said.<\/p>\n
He said it's impossible to ask doctors to work in difficult
\nplaces just to demonstrate their loyalty and dedication to the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
Doctors doing mandatory service at easy-to-reach, government-
\nappointed places are paid Rp 500,000 (US$212.7) monthly. Those in
\nremote areas are paid Rp 805,000 while those in very remote areas
\nreceive Rp 1,009,000.<\/p>\n
"The whole system should be overhauled to enable the country
\nto meet future demands in health development," he said.<\/p>\n
Minister of Health Sujudi opened the congress yesterday at the
\n1996 Hospital Expo, which was attended by 96 foreign and domestic
\nparticipants. Also attending were association chairperson Samsi
\nJacobalis and secretary-general Nico A. Lumenta.<\/p>\n
Emil suggested the government pay incentives to doctors
\nworking in remote areas. He said some regions, including East
\nNusa Tenggara, Central Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi, East Timor,
\nIrian Jaya and Maluku, are badly in need of doctors.<\/p>\n
The high rate of unemployment among medical school graduates,
\nmostly caused by their reluctance to be posted in remote areas,
\nhas been under public scrutiny. Observers say the joblessness is
\nironic because Indonesia needs more doctors.<\/p>\n
Official figures show the population-doctor ratio stood at
\n100,000:12 in 1994, one doctor per 8,333 people that year. (ste)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/poor-health-development-lamented-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}