Aceh needs Rp300b for health service

Aceh needs Rp300b for health service

BANDA ACEH, Aceh: The Aceh Nanggroe Darussalam province badly
needs Rp 300 billion to provide health services to its poor
residents, an official said here on Wednesday.

Provincial health office deputy head Haniff Asmara said that
45 percent of the province's total population of 4.3 million was
poor.

"We assume that in a developing country with an average
poverty rate of 15 percent (of the total population), each
citizen needs to be allocated Rp 32,000 annually," Haniff said.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the minimum
health allocation level is the equivalent of Rp 41,000 per capita
per year.

"The health spending for Acehnese is Rp 201.9 billion this
year. The money was allocated from the state budget and the
provincial budget. The amount is too small to cover all health-
related problems," Haniff said. --Antara